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BOYS' Own Book; 

A 

C0J)IPl£E¥E ENCYCl£0PEDI^ 



Athletic, Scientific, Outdoor and Indoor Sports. 




New Yoi\k: 
JAMES MILLER, PUBLISHER, 

1881. 




■''"V 



LS 



ti\ 



fiOOBCS tjnk:no';vN 




DEC 1 1960 



'f3-^1t'«0 




As it is impossible for a single person to write a book of 
this description with a fair prospect of success, treating of 
all the diflEerent games that come under this heading, I 
would state that I am largely indebted to the following works 
for many parts that I am not intimately acquainted with, 
viz.: "The American Boy's Book," "Every Boy's Book;" 
and "The Modern Playmate." Many of the games have 
been so revised as hardly to be remembered as the same 
game the editor played when a boy. For example, the sim- 
ple and almost abandoned game of "Rounders," or " Town 
Ball," has risen to a science under the name of " Base Ball," 
while such as "Croquet," " Football," " Cricket," and " La 
Crosse," are given as they now exist after many years of 
practice have reduced their varied rules to a common 
standard. 

3 



CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

PAGB 

Angling 330 

Apparition, The 339 

Arehboard, The 46 

Archery 99 

Ascending the Ladder 113 

Balanced Stick, The 347 

Bandy 43 

Base-Ball , 15 

Bicycle, The 317 

Blackthorn 178 

Blind-Man's-Buff 98 

Bowing Beau, The , 347 

Breast to Mouth 131 

Bridge of Kaives, The 343 

Buck 97 

Camera Obscura 336 

Cat 90 

Catch Penny 133 

Chairing the Iieg 114 

Checkers 301 

Cherry Cheat, The 384 

Chess 149 

Coasting 88 

Conjurer's Joke, The 343 

Counter Changed, The 845 

Cricket 33 

5 



6 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Croquet 167 

Cross Tag 55 

CupandBaU 30 

Deaf and Dumb Alphabet 164 

Deep Leap 108 

Deep Leap with the Pole Ill 

Dot and Carry Two 113 

Doubled Coin, The 248 

Draughts 201 

Drawing the Oven 95 

Driving 187 

Dropping the Kerchief 96 

Duck on a Rock 94 

Eatable Candle-Ends 243 

Fascinated Bird, The 245 

Fencing 124 

Finger Peat 114 

Fishing 220 

Fives 27 

Flying Book, The 112 

Flying Steps 115 

Follow my Leader 53 

Foot-BaU 11 

Ghost, The 239 

Great Wooden Ball, The 117 

Gymnastics 107 

Hare and Hounds 60 

Hat-BaU 27 

Hide and Seek 94 

High Leap • Ill 

High Leap with Pole 110 

Hockey 43 

Holes 48 



CONTENTS. 7 

PAGE 

Hoop, The 56 

Hop, Step, and Jump 95 

Hopscotch 91 

Horizontal Bar 109 

Hunt the Stag 50 

Hunt the Slipper 95 

Increase Pound 48 

Ingenious Anamorphoses 340 

Jumping 106 

Jumping Kope, The 96 

Kite, The. 58 

Knights 147 

Knock Out 46 

Knuckle Down 113 

La Crosse 179 

Lame Lamplighter, The 96 

Leap before you Look 120 

Leap-Frog 51 

Lilting at Arm's Length 114 

Long Leap 109 

Long Reach 115 

Magic Lantern, The 237 

Marbles 45 

Mo\dng Pyramid, The 246 

Mysterious Bottle, The : 246 

Nine Holes 27 

Optical Amusements 235 

Pahn Spring, The 119 

Parallel Bars 106 

Peashooter, The 58 

Peg Top 31 



8 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

PerUous Goblet, The 244 

Philosophy Cheated 351 

Pitching at the Cork 183 

Planli, The 113 

Poker Puzzle, The 123 

Pop-Gun, The 56 

Prancing Dragoon, The 349 

Prisoner's Base 53 

Prostrate and Perpendicidar 109 

Pulley, The 130 

Puss in the Corner 54 

Pyramid 47 

Quoits 181 

Eackets , 40 

Riding 183 

Eing-Taw 46 

Eosamond's Bower 147 

Eounders 29 

Eowing 191 

. Running 108 

Saddle my Nag 53 

Sailing 305 

See-Saw - 93 

Sentinel Egg 243 

Shinny 43 

Shoot the Die 47 

Simple Deception 251 

Singular Illusion 242 

Skating 81 

Snow Giant, The 88 

Stepping through your Fingers 113 

Stilts ; 122 

Stooping Stretch 117 

Storm and Calm 247 



CONTEN"TS. - 9 

PAGE 

Sucker, The 56 

Swimming 61 

Swinging 89 

Tag 55 

Tantalus Trick 118 

Ten Pins 177 

Thread the Needle 93 

Thumb-String 245 

Tip-Cat , 90 

To Climb the Pole 113 

To Climb the Eope 110 

To Light a Candle by Smoke 244 

Toper's Tripod, The 248 

Tops : 31 

To Suspend a Ring by Burnt Thread 245 

To Take a Chair from under You 121 

Touch 55 

Trial of the Thumb 119 

Triumph, The Ill 

Tumble-Down Dick 116 

Tug of War 89 

Turn Over 118 

Two to One 116 

Vaulting 110 

Velocipede, The 217 

Walking 106 

Watch-Spring Gun, The 60 

Whip Top 33 

Whoop ■ 93 

Wine upon Water 344 

Wizard's Chariot, The 349 

Wolf, the Goat and the Cabbage 315 

"W^onderful EeUlumination 347 

Yachting 305 



10 CONTEIJTTS. 

PART II. 
PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT, 

PAGE 

Chapter I. — Gravitation — Weight — Velocity — Motion 
— Friction — Momentum — Three Great Laws of 
Motion 13 

Chapter II. — Centers of Magnitude and Gravity — Art 

of Balancer — Walking on Stilts 39 

Chapter III. — Explanations of Balancing and Air 

Toys 55 

Chapter IV.— Revolving Watch-Glass — The Sling — 
Centrifugal and Centripetal Forces — Theory of 
Projectiles 69 

Chapter V. — Rotary Motion — The Hoop— Whip and 

Peg Top 83 

Chapter VI. — Marbles — Ring -Taw — Rudiments of 

Steam-Engine in a Toy — Reflected Motion 109 

Chapter VII.— The Soap - Bubble— The Squirt— The 
Bellows — Common Pump — ^Atmospheric Press- 
ure—Magic Bottle 130 

Chapter VIII. — The Kite — ^Various Shapes of Kites — 

Chinese Origin 145 

Chapter IX.— The Shuttlecock— The WindmUl— The 

Smoke- Jack — Bow and Arrow — Archery 169 

Chapter X, — The Crescent — Apparitions Dispelled and 
Mysteries Explained — Musical Instruments — The 
Jew's-Harp— The Flute— Echoes 181 

Chapter XI. — Whispering Gallery of St. Paul's — 
Speaking Trumpet — Invisible Girl — Charades — 
Mysterious Sounds 197 

Chapter XII. — The Flower-Garden — Its Pleasures and 

Advantages — Colors — Optical Fallacies 208 

Chapter XIII. — The Thaumatrope — Explanations of 

its Properties— Various Optical Toys 233 



BOYS' OWN BOOK. 




FOOTBALL. 



A match is made between two sets of players of equal 
numbers ; a large ball made of light materials — a blown 
bladder, cased with leather, is the best — is placed between 
them, and the object of each party is to kick the ball across 
the goal of the other, and to prevent it from passing their 
own. The party, across whose goal the ball is kicked, loses 
the game. The game is commenced between the two goals, 
which are about a hundred yards asunder. 

In the game of Football the fewer the rules, and the sim- 
pler those rules are, the better. The great contention now 
is whether the players shall be allowed to touch the ball with 
their hands or not. The code of rules given below is the 

11 



13 boys' OWN" BOOK. 

result of many years' paring and reTision, under the test of 
constant hard play. 

A few hours' play will be sufficient to give an insight into 
the practical working of these rules. 

Tlieory of the Game. — ^Football, like cricket, requires two 
opposing sides. It is played with a hollow ball, eight or ten 
inches in diameter. It is a game only suitable for cold 
weather, as base-ball is for hot. 



1. The length of the ground shall be not more than 150 
yards, and the breadth 55 yards. The ground shaU be 
marked out by posts, two at each end, parallel with the goal- 
posts, and 55 yards apart ; and by one at each side of the 
ground, half-way between the side-posts. 

2. The goal shall consist of two uprights 15 feet apart, 
with a cross-bar 8 feet from the ground. 

3. The choice of goal and kick-off shall be determined by 
tossing. 

4. In a match, when half the time agreed upon has elapsed, 
the sides shall change goals the next time the ball is out of 
play. In ordinary games the change shall be made after 
every goal. 

5. The heads of sides shall have the sole management of 
the game. 

6. The baU shall be put in play as follows : 

(a) At the commencement of the game, and after every 
goal, by a place-kick 35 yards in advance of the goal, by 
either side alternately, each party being arrayed on its 
own ground. 

(&) If the ball has been played behind the goal-line (1) 
by the opposite party, the side owning the goal shall 
have a place-kick from behind the goal-line at their dis- 
cretion ; (2) by the side owning the goal, whether by kick- 
ing or guiding, the opposite party shall have a place- 
kick from a spot 25 yards in front of the goal at their 
discretion. 



boys' OWJSr BOOK. 13 

(c) If the ball has been played across the side-lines, the 
player first touching it with the hand shall have a place- 
kick from the point at which the ball crossed the line. 

7. In aU the above cases, the side starting the ball shall 
be out of play until one of the opposite side has played it. 

8. When a player has played the ball, any one of the same 
side who is nearer the opponents' goal-line on their ground 
is out of play, and may not touch the ball himself, or ob- 
struct any other player, until the ball be first played by one 
of the opposite side, or he have crossed into his own ground. 

9. No player shaU. carry the ball, hold it, throw it, pass it 
to another with his hands, or lift it from the ground with 
his hands, on any pretence whatever. 

10. AU charging is fair; but holding, pushing with the 
elbows or hands, tripping up, and hacking are forbidden. 

11. No player may wear iron plates, projecting naUs, or 
rubber on his boots or shoes. 

13. A goal is gained when the baU is hicJced from the front 
beneath the uprights and beneath the cross-bar, or in any 
way passed through from the front, by the side owning the 
goal. 

13. In case of any distinct and wilful violation of these 
rules of play by one of either side, the opposite side may 
claim, a fresh kick-ofl. 

DEFINITION OP TERMS. 

A place-kick is a kick at the ball while at rest on the 
ground. The kicker may claim a free space of three yards 
in front of the baU. 

Ground. Each side claims as its own that portion of the 
ground which lies between its goal and the centre. 

Charging is bringing the body into collision with that of 
an opponent. The arms, and especially the elbows, must 
be kept well to the sides, not to violate Rule 10. 

Hacking is kicking an adversary intentionally. 

Tripping is throwing an adversary by placing the foot. 



14 



Bo: 



OVfN BOOK. 



leg, or any part of the body in the way of an adyersary's 
legs, and thus causing him to fall or stumble. 

CATCH-BALL. 

This is very similar to the game of nineholes. Instead of 
bowling the baU into holes, it is thrown in the air, and the 
name of the player, for whom it is intended, called out by 
the thrower. If it be caught before it has twice touched the 
ground, by the player so called on, he loses no point, but 
throws it up again, and calls upon whom he pleases to catch 
it. If it be not caught in due time, he whose name is called 
must endeavor to strike one of the others with it ; if he miss, 
he loses a point, and has his throw up. The remainder of 
the game, the number of points, and the losers' punishment, 
are aU precisely as in Mne-holes ; of the two, it is the better 
game. 




boys' owit book. 



15 




r^^^ir-^_ 



BASE-BALL. 



This, the national game of our country, holds the same 
place with us that cricket does in England. It is really the 
old English game of rounders brought down to a system, and 
made into a game suitable for aU, from the youngest school- 
boy to the full-grown man. It can be played by any number 
of boys, but the proper way is to have two sides, with nine 
players on each side. 

The history of the game commences with the formation 
of the National Association, inasmuch as the rules previous- 
ly were crude and irregular ; but as it now exists it requires 
a high degree of physical ability, and the possession of manly 
character to excel in it. 

The theory of base-ball is as simple as that of any field 
sport in vogue, and therein lies one of its attractive features. 

Having selected as level a field as you can find, you mark 



16 boys' OWif BOOK. 

O Scorer. Catcher. 



O Umpire. 



3 feet. 




-night Field. 



t 

Centre Field. 



L^ Field. -h 



DIAQBAM OF A BASEBAXL FIELD. 



BOTS' OWN BOOK. 17 

out your bases in the form of a square, witk one corner as 
the position of your home base, and the other comers for 
the first, second, and third bases, the first base being on the 
right of the batsman as he stands at the home base, and the 
third base on the left. 

By looking at the diagram you "will see the relative posi- 
tions. Whoever wins the toss at the outset, can either 
bat or field first. The batsman takes his position at the 
home base, on a line drawn through its centre, parallel to 
one extending from the first to the third base, and extending 
three feet on each side of it. As soon as he hits the baU he 
starts for the first base, and is succeeded by the other bats- 
men in turn. When three of these are put out the fielders 
take their turns at the bat, and play their innings ; and so 
on, to the close of the game, which consists of nine innings 
on a side. If the batsman, after touching successively the 
first, second, and third bases, reaches the home base, un- 
touched by the ball in his adversary's hands, he is entitled 
to score one run ; and if he hits the ball so far as to make 
the four bases before it is returned, he makes a home run. 
If the game be interrupted or stopped before each side have 
played five innings, it is drawn. The rest of the game will 
be found by a reference to the rules. 

BAT AND BALL. 

The form and shape of the bat and ball are regulated by 
the rules. For ordinary use ash is the best material ; but 
those who like a heavy bat will take hickory, and for a light 
bat, English willow is preferable. 

FIELD POSITIONS. 

Catcher. — His business is to catch or stop aU balls pitched 
or thrown to the home base, to catch aU tips and foul balls, 
throw the ball swiftly and unerringly to the bases, and 
keep a watch over the whole field. When a player has 
made the first base, the catcher gets nearer the striker, so as 



18 boys' owk book. 

to take the ball from the pitcher before it bounds ; and so 
soon as the ball is delivered, and the player runs from first 
to second base, he takes the ball before bounding, and 
delivers it swiftly to the second base, in time to cut off the 
player before he gets to that base. "When the catcher sees 
several fielders running to catch a ball, he should name the 
one to catch the ball on the fly, but only, in case of its 
being missed, take it on the bound. 

Short /Stop,— Kis duty is to stop all balls that come with- 
in his reach, and pass them to whatever base the striker is 
running to. When necessary, he covers the third base, and 
backs up the second and third bases, when the ball is thrown 
in from the field. He must be ready to take foul balls on 
the bound, when missed on the fly by the pitcher, or third 
baseman. 

Pitcher. — His position is behind a line, four yards long, 
drawn at right angles from the home to the opposite base, 
at the distance of f orty-flve feet from the home. He should 
be chosen for his good flelding, and swift and accurate de- 
livery of the ball, which he must pitch and ^ not throw. 
The ball must be delivered as near as he can to the home 
base, to the striker, and high enough to prevent its bound- 
ing at or before the base. He should keep his eye out. to 
the bases, and when he sees the players endeavoring to run 
to the bases, should deliver an accurate and swift ball to 
the basemen. He should be able to pitch the ball quickly 
and evenly, and give it at the same time that bias, or twist, 
which is best to baffle the batsman's blow, and yet is a fair 
ball at the striker. He should catch, too, if a player endeav- 
ors to make the home base while he is pitching, and follow 
his ball to the home, where he will take it from the catcher. 

Left Field. — As half, or may be more, of the balls hit 
are sent in his direction, he should be a sure catcher, as well 
as a good thrower and runner. 

Centre Field. — Right Field. — These require the same qual- 
ities as the other fleld ; but as few balls go to him, it is usual 
to put the poorest player in the last-named position. 



boys' OWE" BOOK, 19 

Batsman. — He must not get over three feet from either 
side of the line drawn through the centre of the home base, 
and wait the coming of a proper ball ; but when a fair ball 
comes he should strike. When he has hit the ball he should 
drop, not throw his bat, and make for the first base ; for if 
it be a foul ball the umpire will declare it at once, and he 
can easily return. The rules, if studied, will speak further 
of him and his duties. 

First Base. — He should take a position a little below his 
base, and inside the line of the foul-ball post, to catch balls 
he would otherwise miss. The moment the ball is struck, 
and does not come near him, he must get back to his base, 
and with one foot on it, be ready to receive the ball from any 
fielder; because the striker may be put out at the first base 
without being touched by the ball, provided the baseman, 
with ball in hand, touches the base before the striker gets 
there. The moment he has held the ball, he should either 
send it to the pitcher, or to any other base that players are 
trying to make. 

Second Base. — He should play generally to the left and a 
little back of his base, though he should be guided in it by 
the customary play of the striker. When the striker reaches 
the first base, he should return to his base, prepared to re- 
ceive the ball from the catcher, and be ready to put out the 
striker by touching him with the ball. On no base, except 
the first, can the striker be put out by the baseman holding 
the ball, except when balls are caught on the fly, or are foul, 
when the player, in returning to the base he has left, may be 
put out, as at the first base. 

Third Base. — The same general rules wlU apply here as to 
the second base in regard to practice. 

OK FIELDING. 

The fielders should always be able to throw the ball to 
base from long field ; and whenever they stop the ball, they 
should return it at once, either to the pitcher, or to the base- 



20 boys' own book. 

man needing it. Let each start the moment the ball is 
struck, so as to take it, if possible, on the fly, and not on 
the bound. It is easier to take a ball by running forward 
than backward. You may be deceived by a ball being hit 
high to long field, and think it will come farther than it 
will — a ball describing a more sudden curve in its descent 
than ascent. Practice and a keen eye must strengthen the 
fielder's judgment on this point. 

THE UMPIRE AND SCOREE. 

The Umpire. — The position of the umpire is not altogether 
desirable, for he must displease some one with his decision. 
But he should not merely be impartial, nevertheless, but 
strict, in enforcing the rules of the game, and prompt in his 
decision, giving an opinion in general according to the first 
impression on his mind, which, in ninety-nine cases out of a 
hundred, he will find correct. If the point is doubtful, the 
rule is to decide in favor of the baU. He should call a foul 
ball instantly ; and call out " one strike," and so on through 
to "three strike," whenever a player persists in refusing fair 
balls. He must keep his eyes about him, see that the pitcher 
does not Jerk the ball, or have one foot before his position, 
or in any other way violate the rules ; and see that the bats- 
man is on his line. If the striker is off his Line, and the ball 
therefore fall behind the base when struck, the umpire will 
declare it a fair ball. His position is to the right of, and be- 
tween the striker and catcher, in a line between the third and 
home base, unless the striker is left-handed, when he takes 
the opposite side. If either side try to prolong the game, in 
order that night may stop it, let him decide it by the last 
fair innings, or make it a draw. Let him remember that a 
bound is when it has struck the ground but once, though it 
may have struck against a tree or other stationary object 
before. 

Tlie Scorer. — His duty is very plain. He is the clerk of 
the game, to set down everything as it is ; and therefore he 
should know the game thoroughly in every point. 



BOTS' OWK BOOK. 21 

The following are the rules adopted by the National Asso- 
ciation of Base-baU Players, with the latest' amendments: 

RULES AJND EEGXILATIONS 

Adopted hy the National Association of Base-Ball Players, 
held in New Yorh, Decemher 9, 1863, 

Sec. 1. The ball must weigh not less than five and one- 
half nor more than five and three-fourths ounces, avoirdu- 
pois. It must measure not less than nine and one-half, nor 
more than nine and three-fourths inches in circumference. 
It must be composed of India-rubber and yam, and covered 
with leather, and, in aU match games, shall be furnished by 
the challenging club, and become the property of the winning 
club as a trophy of victory. 

Sec. 2. The bat must be round, and must not exceed two 
and a half inches in diameter in the thickest part. It must 
be made of wood, and may be of any length to suit the 
striker. 

Sec. 3. The bases must be four in number, placed at equal 
distances from each other, and securely fastened upon the 
four corners of a square, whose sides are respectively thirty 
yards. They must be so constructed as to be distinctly seen 
by the umpire, and must cover a space equal to one square 
foot of surface. The first, second, and third bases shall be 
canvas bags, painted white, and fiUed with sand or saw- 
dust ; the home base and pitcher's point to be each marked 
by a flat circular iron plate, painted or enameled white. 

Sec. 4. The base from which the baU is struck shall be 
designated the home base, and must be directly opposite to 
the second base; the first base must always be that upon the 
right-hand, and the third base that upon the left-hand side 
of the striker, when occupying his position at the home base. 
And in all match games, a line connecting the home and first 
base and the home and third base, shall he marJced by the use 
of chalk, or other suitable material, so as to be distinctly 
seen by the umpire. 



22 boys' OWif BOOK. 

Sec. 5. The pitcher's position shall be designated by two 
lines, four yards in length, drawn at right angles to a line 
from home to second base, having their centres upon that 
line at two fixed iron plates, placed at points fifteen and 
sixteen yards distant from the home base. The pitcher 
must stand within the lines, and must deliver the ball as 
near as possible over the centre of the home base, and for 
the striker. 

Sec. 6. Should the pitcher repeatedly fail to deliver to the 
striker fair balls, for the apparent purpose of delaying the 
game, or for any other cause, the umpire, after warning 
him, shall call one ball, and if the pitcher persists in such 
action, two and three balls ; when three balls shall have been 
called, the striker shaU be entitled to the first base ; and 
should any base be occupied at that time, each player occupy- 
ing them shall be entitled to one base without being put out. 

Sec. 7. The ball must be pitched, not jerked or thrown to 
the bat, and whenever the pitcher draws back his hand, or 
moves with the apparent purpose or pretension to deliver 
the ball, he shall so deliver it, and must have neither foot in 
advance of the front line or off the ground at the time of 
delivering the ball; and if he fails in either of these particu- 
lars, then it shall be declared a balk. 

Sec. *8. When a balk is made by the pitcher, every 
player running the bases is entitled to one base, without 
being put out. 

Sec. 9. If the ball, from a stroke of the bat, first touches 
the ground, the person of a player, or any other ohjed, be- 
hind the range of home and the first base, or home and the 
third base, it shall be termed foul, and must be so declared 
by the umpire, unasked. If the ball first touches the ground, 
either upon, or in front of the range of those bases, it shall 
be considered fair. 

Sec. 10. A player making the home base shall be entitled 
to score one run. 

Sec. 11. If three balls are struck at, and missed, and the 
last one h not caught, either flying or upon the first bound, 



boys' owjsr BOOK. 23 

it shall be considered fair, and the striker must attempt to 
make his run. 

Sec. 12. The striker is out if a foul ball is caught, either 
before touching the ground, or upon the first bound ; 

Sec. 13. Or, if three balls are struck at and missed, and 
the last is caught, either before touching the ground, or 
upon the first bound ; 

Sec. 14. Or, if a fair ball is struck, and the ball is caught 
either without having touched the ground, or upon the first 
bound; 

Sec. 15. Or, if a fair ball is struck, and the ball is held 
by an adversary on first base, before the striker touches that 



Sec. 16. Any player running the bases is out, if at any 
time he is touched by the ball while in play in the hands of 
an adversary, without some part of his person being on the 
base. 

Sec. 17. No ace or base can be made upon a foul ball ; 
such a ball shall be considered dead, and not in play until 
it shall first have been settled in the hands of the pitcher. In 
such cases players running bases shall return to them, and 
may be put out in so returning in the same manner as the 
striker when running to the first base. 

Sec. 18. No ace or base can be made when a fair ball has 
been caught without having touched the ground ; such a 
ball shall be considered alive and in play. In such case 
players running bases shall return to them, and may be put 
out in so returning, in the same manner as the striker when 
running to first base ; but players, when balls are so caught, 
may run their bases immediately after the ball has been 
settled in the hands of the player catching it. 

Sec. 19. The striker must stand on a line drawn through 
the centre of the home base, not exceeding in length three 
feet from either side thereof, and parallel with the line oc- 
cupied by the pitcher. He shall be considered the striker 
until he has made the first base. Players must strike in 
regular rotation, and, after the first innings is played, the 



24 boys' OYfN BOOK. 

turn commences with the player who stands on the list next 
to the one who lost the third hand. 

Sec. 20. Players must make their bases in the order of 
striking ; and when a fair ball is struck, and not caught fly- 
ing (or on the first bound), the first base must be vacated, as 
also the second and third bases, if they are occupied at the 
same time. Players may be put out on any base, uaider these 
circumstances, in the same manner as the striker when run- 
ning to the first base. 

Sec. 21. Players running' bases must touch them ; and, so 
far as possible, keep upon the direct line between them ; 
and must touch them in the following order : first, second, 
third, and home ; and if returning must reverse this order ; 
and should any player rim three feet out of this line, for the 
purpose of avoiding the ball in the hands of an adversary, 
he shall be declared out. 

Sec. 23. Any player, who shall intentionally. prevent an 
adversary from catching or fielding the ball, shall be de- 
clared out. 

Sec. 23. If the player is prevented from making a base, 
by the intentional obstruction of an adversary, he shall be 
entitled to that base, and not be put out. 

Sec. 24. If an adversary stops the ball with his hat or cap, 
or takes it from the hands of a party not engaged in the 
game, no player can be put out imless the ball shall first 
have been settled in the hands of the pitcher. 

Sec 25. If a ball, from the stroke of a bat, is held under 
any other circumstances than as enumerated in Section 24, 
and without having touched the ground more than once, 
the striker is out. 

Sec. 26. If two hands are already out, no player running 
home at the time a ball is struck, can make an ace if the 
striker is put out. 

Sec 27. An innings must be concluded at the time the 
third hand is put out. 

Sec 28. The game shall consist of nine innings to each 
side, when, should the number of runs be equal, the play 



boys' OWif BOOK. 35 

shall be continued until a majority of runs, upon an equal 
number of innings, shall be declared, which shall conclude 
the game. 

Sec. 39. In playing all matches, nine players from each 
club shall constitute a full field, and they must have been 
regular members of the club which they represent, and of no 
other club, for thirty days prior to the match. No change 
or substitution shall be made after the game has been com- 
menced, unless for reason of illness or injury. Position of 
players and choice of innings shall be determined by cap- 
tains previously appointed for that purpose by the respective 
clubs. 

Sec. 30. The umpire shall take care that the regulations 
respecting balls, bats, bases, and the pitcher's and striker's 
positions, are strictly observed. He shall keep a record of 
the game in a book prepared for the purpose ; he shall be 
the judge of fair and unfair play, and shall determine all 
disputes and differences which may occur during the game ; 
he shall take especial care to declare all foul balls and balks, 
immediately upon their oecxirrenee, unasked, and in a dis- 
tinct and audible manner. He shall, in every instance, he- 
fore leaving the ground, declare the winning club, and shall 
record his decision in the score iooJcs of the two clubs. 

Sec. 31. In all matches the umpire shall be selected by 
the captains of the respective sides, and shall perform all the 
duties enumerated in Section 30, except recording the game, 
which shall be done by two scorers, one of whom shall be 
appointed by each of the contending clubs. 

Sec 32. No person engaged in a match, either as umpire, 
scorer, or player, shall be, either directly or indirectly, in- 
terested in any bet upon the game. Neither umpire, scorer, 
nor player shall be changed during a match, unless with the 
consent of both parties (except for a violation of this law), 
except as provided in Section 39, and then the umpire may 
dismiss any transgressors. 

Sec. 33. The umpire in any match shaU determine when 
play shall be suspended ; and if the game cannot be con- 
3 



26 boys' owh book. 

eluded, it shall be decided by the last even innings, provided 
five innings have been played, and the party having the 
greatest number of runs shall be declared the winner. 

Sec. 34. Clubs may adopt such rules respecting balls 
knocked beyond or outside of the bounds of the field, as the 
circumstances of the ground may demand ; and these rules 
shall govern all matches played upon the ground, provided 
that they are distinctly made known to every player and 
umpire, previous to the commencement of the game. 

Sec. 35. No person shall be permitted to approach or to 
speak with the umpire, scorers, or players, or in any manner 
to interrupt or interfere during the progress of the game, 
unless by special request of the umpire. 

Sec. 36. No person shall be permitted to act as umpire or 
scorer in any match, unless he shall be a member of a Base- 
ball Club governed by these rules. 

Sec. 37. Whenever a match shall have been determined 
upon between two clubs, play shall be called at the exact 
hour appointed ; and should either party fail to produce 
their players within fifteen minutes thereafter, the party so 
failing shall admit a defeat. 

Sec. 38. No person who shall be in arrears to any other 
club, or who shall at any time receive compensation for his 
services as a player, shall be competent to play in any match. 

Sec. 39. Should a striker stand at the bat without striking 
at good balls repeatedly pitched to him, for the apparent 
purpose of delaying the game, or of gi\dng advantage to a 
player, the umpire, after warning him, shall call one strike, 
and if he persists in such action, two and three strikes. 
When three strikes are called, he shall be subject to the 
same rules as if he had struck at three fair balls. 

Sec. 40. Every match hereafter made shall be declared by 
a single game, unless otherwise mutually agreed upon. 



BOYS OWK BOOK. 27 

GAMES WITH BALLS. 
FIVES. 

Fives may be played either single-handed or with partners. 
A good wall must be selected, with a sound flat piece of 
ground in front of it ; a line must be drawn, about three 
feet from the ground, on the wall ; another on the ground, 
about two yards from the wall; and a third, describing three 
sides of a square, of which the wall itself will be a fourth, 
on the ground from the wall, to mark the bounds. The 
players toss up for innings ; the winner begins by dapping 
his ball on the ground, and striking it against the wall, 
above the line, and so that it may rebound far enough to 
fall outside the line on the ground ; the other player then 
strikes it, in the same manner, either before it has touched 
the ground, or dapped (i. e., hopped) from the ground, more 
than once ; the first player then prepares to receive and 
strike it at its rebound ; and thus the game goes on, until 
one of the players fail to strike the ball in his turn, before 
it has hopped more than once, strike it below the mark, or 
drive it out of bounds. If the party who is in do neither of 
these, he loses his innings ; if the other, then the in-player 
reckons one, on each occasion, toward the game, which is 
fifteen. When partners play, the rules are precisely the 
same; each side keeping up the ball alternately, and the 
partners taking turns for innings, as one of the other side 
gets out. After the ball is first played out, on each occa- 
sion, it is not necessary to make it rebound beyond the 
ground line, which is used only to make the player who is 
in give out the ball fairly in the first instance : that is, when 
he first takes his innings, or when he plays out the ball 
again, after winning a point. 

NINE-HOLES OR HAT-BALL. 
Near a wall where the ground is level, dig nine, or a 
lesser number of holes, according to the number of players. 



28 boys' owk book. 

large enough for a ball to be bowled in without difS.eulty. 
Number them, and let each player be allotted a number, by 
chance or choice, as it may be agreed. A line is drawn 
about five yards from the holes, at which one of the players 
places himself, and bowls the ball into one of the holes. 
The player to whom the hole, into which the ball is bowled, 
belongs, picks it up as quickly as he can, and endeavors 
to strike one of the others with it (the latter all run off 
as soon as they perceive that the ball is not for themselves) ; 
if the thrower miss his aim, he loses a point, and is called 
"a fifer," and it is his turn to bowl; if, however, he strike 
another, he loses nothing ; but the party so struck, in ease 
he fail to hit another with the ball, becomes ' ' a flf er, " and 
it is his turn to bowl. Five or six may be struck in succes- 
sion, and the ball may be kept up, no matter how long, 
until a miss be made, when the party so missing loses a 
point, and bowls. It is also allowed for one player to accept 
the ball from another, and run the risk of striking a third : 
thus, if A stand close behind B, and C have the ball in 
front of B, A may signify by motions that he will take the 
ball, which is then thrown toward him by C ; he catches it, 
and endeavors to strike B before he can run away ; if he 
miss, he loses a point and bowls. The second bowling is 
conducted precisely as the first; but he who bowls three 
times without passing the ball into a hole, loses a point, and 
if he have lost one before, becomes "a tenner;" he must 
still go on, until he succeed in putting the ball into a hole ; 
it is his own fault if he bowl into that which belongs to him- 
self. A party who misses his aim a second time becomes 
" a tenner; " he who loses a third point, " a flf teener ; " and 
when four points are lost, the party stands out. The game 
goes on until all the players are out but one ; the latter 
wins the game. One of the others then takes the ball in his 
left hand, places his face toward the wall, and throws the 
ball over the right shoulder as far as he can. The player 
who has won stands at the spot where the ball first touches 
the ground, or, if it be not immediately behind the party 



*i 




boys' OWN" BOOK. 29 

who has thrown it, a line is drawn from the place where the 
ball daps, to a spot behind the thrower. Thus, suppose the 
thrower to be at a, the ball falls at 5, a line is drawn to c. 
The winner then throws the ball, ^ 
from c, at the loser's back, three 
times, as hard as he pleases. The 
other losers throw in the same 
manner, one after another, and the 
winner has his three balls at each of 
their backs, from the spot where 
their balls respectively first touch 

the ground, or in a line with it, as above stated, and illus- 
trated by the diagram in the margin. 

This game is also called "Hat-ball," on account of the 
players using their hats, instead of digging holes, and the 
ball is tossed into the hats, instead of being bowled into 
the holes. 

KOUKDERS. 

In England, next to cricket, this is one of the most favor- 
ite sports with the bat and ball. In rounders, the players 
divide into two equal parties, and chance decides which 
shall have first innings. Four stones or 
posts are placed from twelve to twenty 
^ yards asunder, as a, i, c, d, in the margin ; 

e another is put at e ; one of the party which 

is out, who is called the pitcher, places 
himself at e. He tosses the baU gently 
toward a, on the right of which one of the in-party places 
himself, and strikes the ball, if possible, with his bat. If he 
miss three times, or if the ball when struck, fall behind a, 
or be caught by any of the players, who are all scattered 
about the field except one who stands behind a, he is out, 
and another takes his place. If none of these events take 
place, on Striking the ball he drops the bat, and runs to- 
ward 6, or, if he can, to c, d, or even to a again. If, how- 
ever, the pitcher, or any of the out-players who may happen 



30 



boys' OWIS BOOK. 



to have the ball, strike him with it in his progress from a to 
b, b to c, e to d, or d to a, he is out. Supposing he can only 
get to b, one of his partners takes the bat, and strikes at the 
ball in tiu-n ; while the ball is passing from the pitcher to a, 
if it be missed, or after it is struck, the first player gets to 
the next or a further goal, if possible, without being struck. 
If he can only get to c,_or d, the second runs to b only, or c, 
as the case may be, and a third player begins ; as they get 
home, that is, to a, they play at the ball in rotation, until 
they all get out ; then, of coiu-se, the out-players take their 
places. This is the origin of our game of Base-ball. 




CUP AND BALL. 

In this game there is no infusion of chance, the whole 
interest of the game lying in the dexterity of the player. 
The cup is a piece of wood or ivory, with a poiut at one 
end and a cup — the shallower and 
smaller the better — at the other. 
The ball is solid, with the excep- 
tion of a hole, which ought to be 
just large enough to receive the 
point, and no larger. The baU 
is connected with the stem of the 
cup by means of a string, which, 
if possible, should be of soft silk, 
so as to avoid " kinking," which 
is obstructive to all play. 

The learner should begin with 
catching the ball in the cup. He 
^y should take the stem by the mid- 

dle, taking care to hold it as lightly as possible between 
the ends of the fingers and thumb, and not to grasp it 
firmly. 



boys' OWIS" BOOK. 



31 




GAMES WITH TOP 8. 



PEG-TOP. 

In this favorite game considerable dexterity may be ac- 
quired by practice. A circle, whose diameter is about a 
yard, is first drawn on a smooth piece of ground (pavement 
is objectionable for this game), and several players surround 
it. One volunteers to commence ; he throws his top inside 
the circle, and the others are at liberty to cast theirs at it, 
so long as it remains within the ring ; the moment it rolls 
out, he may take it up, and peg at those which still remain 
inside, the object of each player being to split the tops of 
his companions. If he succeed in any 
case, he keeps the peg of the split top as 
the spoil of his victoiy. If either of the 
players do not cast his top within the 
ring, or if he attempt to take it out, or if 
he fail to set it spinning when he throws, 
or if it do not spin out, or after it ceases 
spinning, roll out of the circle, it is 
called "a dead top," and must be placed in the centre 




32 



boys' own book. 



of the ring for tlie others to peg at. When it is knocked 
out again without being split, the player to whom it be- 
longs, takes it up, and plays away as before. Some- 
times half-a-dozen dead tops are driven out of the ring by 
one cast, without any of them being damaged, and indeed, 
if they be made of good bos, it is but rarelj- that they split. 
A top with a long peg is best at this game, as it is more 
calculated to swerve out of the ring after it is spun ; a top 
that sleeps after it is cast, runs the greatest danger, and 
those that sleep most are heavy bodied tops with short 
blunt pegs. It is advisable to wind the cord round neai'ly 
three parts of the peg, as weU as the top, and to use a button 
at the end instead of a loop. Another way is for the person 
who strikes a top out of ring to take the top so struck. 



WHIP-TOP. 

This is an excellent amusement. The top is easily set 
up by twirling it with both hands on a smooth surface, and 

applying the whip with 
gentleness at first, in- 
creasing the vigor of the 
blows, as the top gets 
firm on its peg. The 
only games we have ever 
seen with whip-tops, are 
"races" and "encoun- 
ters ; " in the former, the 
object is to flog the top 
to a certain distance first ; 
in the latter, the tops are whipped against each other until 
one is knocked down. The best material for a whip, at this 
capital sport, is an eel-skin; it far surpasses cord, or leather 
thongs. 




boys' owk book. 



33 




• CRICKET. 

Cricket is played by eleven persons on eaeli side, thongh a 
less number is sufficient. Two umpires are to be appointed 
in order to settle all disputes that may arise ; they are to 
take their stations at each wicket, and should be well ac- 
quainted with the laws of the game. The umpire at the 
striker's wicket should be behind him, so as not to be in the 
way of the players ; and the umpire at the bowler's wicket, 
directly behind it, to see that the striker does not strike the 
ball with his leg. 



BATS, BALLS, WICKETS, ETC. 

The bat should not be higher than twenty-one inches in 
the pod, and four inches and a quarter in the widest part ; 
this is the size for men ; boys must, of course, have bats in 
proportion to their size and strength. 
2* 



34 boys' OWN" BOOK. 

The ball, for the use of men, should "weigh five and three- 
quarter ounces ; for youth, however, it should be lighter. 

Full-sized wickets are three stumps, which are sufficiently- 
long to leave twenty-seven inches out of the ground, with a 
bail eight inches long, to fit the top. These, like the bat 
and ball, must be decreased in size for the young cricketer. 
They should be placed directly opposite to each other, at the 
distance of twenty-two. yards for men, but varying accord- 
ing to the size of the player. 

The. bowling-crease should be in a line with the wicket, 
and have a return crease. 

The popping-crease should be four feet from the wicket, 
and exactly parallel to it. 

THE BOWLER. 

Bowling is a very important part of the game, and requires 
great steadiness. Bad bowling is often the cause of losing a 
game. A bowler should not be too systematic, but vary his 
balls faster or slower, according to the peculiarities of the 
striker. The bowler and his partner at the opposite wicket 
should have a secret sign, by which they may hint to each 
other the propriety of varying the direction or swiftness of 
the balls. The mode of bowling most generally approved of, 
is to hold the ball with the seam across, so that the tips of the 
fingers may touch ; it should be held with just a sufficient 
grasp to keep it steady ; by a turn of the wrist, it may bo 
made to cut or twist after it is grounded, which will fre- 
quently perplex expert players. 

THE STRIKER, OR BATSMAN. 

The striker should always be ready for running ; when 
his partner is about to strike, he should stand before the 
popping-crease, but he must be cautious not to leave the 
ground before the ball is out of the bowler's hand, for if he 
do, the bowler may put down his wicket, and he will, of 
course, be out. As soon as the ball is delivered, the striker 
may follow it, but should not run too far, so that, if no runs 




STRIKING. 
■WICKET-KEEPER. 



BOWLER. 
ON GUARD. 



boys' own book. 35 

be obtained, he may return in time to save his wicket. The 
bat should be kept on the outside of the opposite partner, 
and care taken not to run against him. 

THE WICKET-KEEPER, 

The wicket-keeper should not suffer the striker to move 
from his ground without knocking down his wicket, which 
is called " stumping out." 

THE SHORT-SLIP. 

The short-slip should stand so as to reach within two feet 
of the wicket-keeper ; if the latter should go from the wicket 
after the ball, the short-slip should take his place until his 
return; but no player should take the ball before the wicket- 
keeper, provided it be coming straight to him. 

THE POINT. 

Point should place himself in the popping-erease, about 
seven yards from the strUier. In backing up, he should 
take care to give the slip sufficient room. 

LEG. 

Leg should stand a little back from the' straight line of 
the popping-erease. 

LONG-STOP. 

Long-stop should stand a proper distance behind the 
wicket, to save a run, if the ball should not be stopped by 
the striker or wicket-keeper. The person who is placed in 
this situation should not be afraid of the ball when bowled 
swiftly. He should also be able to throw in well, as it is not 
only to the balls that pass the wicket-keeper, but to such as 
^re just tipped with the edge of the bat, that he will have 
to attend. He must also be attentive in backing up. This 
is a very important position. 

THE LONG-SLIP TO COVER THE SHORT-SLIP. 

This player must stand about the same distance from the 



36 boys' owk book. 

■wicket as the long-stop, in a line with the striker, between 
the point and the short-slip. 

COVER POINT AND MIDDLE-WICKET. 

This player's place is on the off side, so that if the ball 
should be hit to the point and middle-wieket man, and 
missed, he will be in readiness to receive it. 

, THE LONG-FIELD OFF SIDE. 

He should be placed on the off side, between the middle 
wicket-man and the bowler, at a considerable distance in the 
field, so as to cover them. It is desirable to appoint a per- 
son to this situation, who can throw weU and judiciously. 

LONG-FIELD ON SIDE. 

Long-field on side is at some distance wide of the bowler's 
wieket, so as to prevent a second mn. 

If there be more players, they may be placed to back up, 
or save nms, in different situations about the field. 

LAWS OF CRICKET. 

The bowler should deliver the baU with one foot behind 
the bowling crease, and within the return crease. He should 
bowl four balls before a change of wickets, which he is to do 
but once in the same innings. He must be careful to toss 
the ball in such a way that the striker can play at it ; for if 
he should toss it above the striker's head, or out of the 
bounds of the bowling-crease, the party which is in shall be 
allowed one notch, to be put down to the byes ; and such 
baU is not considered as one of the four balls. When the 
umpire calls "No ball," the hitter may strike at it, and get 
aU the runs he can. 

The striker, or batsman, is always out when the bail is 
knocked off the stump ; when a stump is bowled out of the 
ground ; or, if the ball should, from a stroke over or under 
his bat, or upon his hands (but not his wrists), be held be- 



boys' own book. 37 

fore it touches the ground, even if it should be pressed to 
the body of the catcher; or if, while he is striking, or at any 
other time when the baU is in play, both his feet are over 




the popping-crease, and his wicket put down, except when 
his bat be on the ground within it. Likewise, if he hit 
down his own wicket ; or, if either of the strikers prevent a 
ball from being caught, the striker shall be out; or, if the 
ball be struck up, and the hitter wilfully strike it again ; or, 
if, in attempting to run a notch, the wicket be struck down 
by a throw, or with the ball in hand, before his foot, hand, 
or bat is grounded over the popping-crease : If the striker 
remove or take up his ball while in play, without being re- 
quested by the opposite party; or if, with his leg or foot, he 
stop a ball which has been pitched in a straight line to the 
striker's wicket. If "A lost ball" be called, the striker 
shall be allowed six notches. If the players have crossed 
each other in running, he that runs for the wicket which is 



38 boys' own book. 

put down, shall be out; but if they have not crossed each 
other, he that has left the wicket which is put down, shall 
be out. 

When a ball is caught, no notch shall be reckoned. 
When a striker is run out, the notch they were running for 
shall not be reckoned. While the ball is kept in the bowler's 
or wicket-keeper's hand, it is considered no longer in play, 
nor are the strikers bound to keep within their bounds ; but 
if a player should go out of his ground, with intent to run, 
before the ball is delivered, the bowler may put him out. If 
a striker be hurt by a ball, or otherwise, during his play, he 
may retire from his wicket and continue his inning; and an- 
other person may be permitted to stand out for him, but not 
go in. If any player should stop the ball intentionally with 
his bat, it shall then be considered dead, and the opposite 
party may add five notches to the score. 

If the ball be struck up, the striker may guard his wicket 
either with his bat or his body. If the striker hit the ball 
against the wicket of his partner when he is off his ground 
he is out, if it have previously touched the bowler's or any 
of the field-men's hands, but not otherwise. 

Two minutes are allowed for each man to come in, and 
fifteen minutes between each innings ; when, upon the um- 
pires calling "Play," the party refusing to play shall lose 
the match. 

The wicket-keeper shall not take the ball before it has 
passed the wicket, for the purpose of stumping, and if any 
part of his body is in front of the wicket when the batter is 
bowled out, he shall not be out. 

The umpire should observe the situation of the bowler's 
foot when he delivers the ball, and if it be not behind the 
bowling-crease, and within the return crease, he shall call 
"No ball." If the striker should run a short notch, the 
umpire shall call "No run." The umpire at the bowler's 
wicket has a right to be first applied to for his decision on 
the catches. 



boys' own book. . 39 

SINGLE WICKET. 

The game of Single Wicket is not so interesting as that of 
Double Wicket ; but it may be played by almost any number 
of persons, though it is seldom played with more than four 
or six on a side. The business of a bowler and striker is 
nearly the same as in Double Wicket. 

When the striker runs to .the bowler's wicket, and knocks 
the bail from ofE two stumps placed there, with his bat, and 
returns to his own wicket without having it knocked down 
by the ball, he is entitled to count one notch. After he has 
run one notch, if he start for another, he must touch the 
bowling stump and turn again, before the ball crosses the 
play, to entitle him to another notch. He is entitled to 
three notches for a lost ball. 

If four, or a less number are at play, then they should 
make all hits before the wicket, with bounds, etc., and not 
move off the ground, except by agreement. Where there 
are more than four players on a side, there should be no 
bounds ; and all hits, byes, and overthrows should be 
allowed. It is, of course, to be understood, that the bowler 
must bowl at the usual distance from the wicket. No more 
than one minute is to be allowed between each ball. When 
the striker hits the ball, one of his feet must be on the 
ground, and behind the popping-crease ; otherwise the 
umpire shall call "No hit." The field's-man must return 
the ball, so that it shall cross the play between the wicket 
and the bowling stump; or between the wicket and the 
bounds ; the striker may run till the ball shall be so returned. 
These are the principal rules and regulations adopted by the 
most experienced Cricket-players, at the game of Single 
Wicket. The distance between the wickets is precisely the 
same as at Double Wicket, consequently, the runner has 
twice the ground to run, in obtaining each notch ; but we 
would suggest, that this e"\'il might be remedied by running 
only a little more than half the usual distance: by this 
method. Single Wicket will be rendered much less fatiguing, 
and far more lively and amusing, at least to the Batsman. 



40 boys' owh book. 



RACKETS. 

The ball used in rackets is smaller and harder than that 
used in fives ; it barely exceeds an inch in diameter, and is 
as hard as the nature of the materials will allow, the two 
qualities specially required of it being that it shall be per- 
fectly spherical and shall possess extreme elasticity. 

The bat, or racket, must be familiar to most of our young 
readers; those, however, who are unacquainted with its 
shape and construction will find it accurately made in any 
toy store. The cross network is composed of strong gut, 
and the total length of the bat is about thirty inches. 

The wall against which the ball is struck is marked out as 
in fives, with the addition of another line about ten feet 
from the ground, above which the ball must strike when 
served. The floor is marked out into five divisions, which 
will be fully explained below. There is usually a kind of 
gallery at the back for spectators and the marker. The 
walls should be covered with a smooth hard plaster, and the 
floor should be of some firm concrete and perfectly level, and 
both floor and walls should be painted Uaclc, as a back- 
ground for the white ball, which even at the best it is often 
hard enough to follow. 

The players may be either two or four. When two play, 
having tossed for the lead off, the server stands in the small 
compartment marked b, while his opponent takes his stand 
in the large one marked d. In serving, the ball must be 
made to strike the wall at a, above the upper line mentioned 
a,bove, and must fall within the compartment d. 

If the player in x> succeed in hitting the ball at the first 
hop, and driving it fairly back to the wall, striking above 
the lower line, the game goes on, each striking it alternately 
until one fails, the ball now being only required to strike the 
wall above the lower line, and being quite unrestricted as to 
the place where it takes the groimd. If the server fail, he 
loses his turn, and his opponent takes his place; if the 



boys' own book. 



41 



second hand fail, the server counts one 'to his game, which is 
reckoned in all things just as in fives. The serving takes 
place alternately from b and c — the second hand standing 
at D for B, and e for c. 



E 


1 ^ 1 






^ 


D 




I ^ 





The ball may strike the side and end walls either before 
or after striking the playing wall at A ; but the roof and the 
gallery, if there be one, are considered out of bounds, and 
count to the striker for a miss. A good player makes great 
use of the walls, and will utterly confound and bewilder the 
novice by driving the ball into corners, where it either flies 
about in the most incomprehensible manner or falls most 
disappointingly dead to the ground. Thus it will be seen 
that in rackets, more even than in fives, a player's real 
strength lies chiefly in the power of serving a series of diflB.- 
cult or actually impossible balls. 

There are many other "dodges" which a good player 
practises, which time would fail us to enumerate, and which, 
indeed, hardly come within the scope of these short notices, 
which are not intended as exhaustive treatises on the various 
games for the use of experts, but as an introduction to their 
theory and practice for the use of learners and unformed 
players. 

One trick of the racket may, however, be mentioned as 
not very difficult to acquire and yet extremely valuable in 
play. By a quick action of the wrist as the ball takes the 



42 BOTS' OvV'N BOOK. 

racket, drawing the network across the ball, a Tery consider- 
able spin or bias may be imparted to it, which will cause it 
not only to fly oif the walls at unexpected angles, but to 
prove so erratic in its rebound from the ground as to put aU 
calculation at defiance and balfle the most expert player. 

The first thing a beginner has to learn in handling a 
racket is to stand far enough away from the ball ; it is the 
almost iuvariable fault of a novice to get too near for fair 
striking. The second, perhaps, is to keep cool and not be 
in too great a hurry to strike. This is perhaps a too com- 
mon fault with most players ; they fly about and dash 
frantically at almost every other ball ; whereas a really fine 
player, as a rule, takes the ball as late as possible, and 
hardly ever seems to be in a hurry, generally taking the 
whole affair with the most provoking calmness and delibera- 
tion. To this point of perfection, however, it is only given 
to the few to attain — ^we point it out as the real standard of 
excellence. 

Some attention to dress is necessary : light flannel jersey 
and trousers, and canvas shoes, is the regulation dress. 
Ordinary base-ball habiliments will do for the first, and any 
pair of close-fitting light shoes or slippers will do for the 
second ; but the regular shoes are very inexpensive, and need 
not be a cause of alarm at home. Ordinary boots and shoes 
with thick soles and heels are simply inadmissible; first, 
because they would cut the paving of the court to pieces ; 
and secondly, because they are sure to bring their wearer to 
grief sooner or later, by slipping up and letting him down 
after a fashion to which a heavy fall on the ice is mere 
child's play, and to the imminent danger of breaking half 
the bones in his body. 

The racket is very liable to warp, and so to play untruly ; 
it should always be kept, if possible, under a weight. When 
a racket has warped so much as to become troublesome, it 
can always be restored by being pressed in a frame made for 
the purpose ; but a little care will render this unnecessary 
for a long time. 



boys' owk book. 43 

SHINNY, HOCKEY OR BANDY. 

This is perhaps, next to football, the best of our open-air 
winter games, and is strongly recommended to our young 
readers, as a very efficient substitute for that nobler sport. 
The spirit of the game is pretty much the same as that of 
football, the object being to strike a ball through a goal 
marked by two uprights, the principal difference being that 
the instrument of propulsion is a stick instead of the foot, 
and that the ball is smaller and of a different make. 

The game may be played by a very few, but at least six 
or eight are necessary to give it any real interest. From ten 
to a dozen on a side can play with advantage if the space be 
not too confined ; but a game with only six or eight on a 
side gives more room for individual skill, and is therefore 
preferable. Under all circumstances a crowded game is to 
be avoided, for the game then ceases to be a contest of skill, 
and degenerates into a mere chance medley, in which all 
refinement of play is rendered impossible by the sheer press 
of numbers, and brute strength and reckless hard pounding 
bear down all opposition. Another objection may be men- 
tioned — of more weight, perhaps, with parents than with 
boys themselves, but which the latter might well take into 
some consideration — that is, the extremely dangerous nature 
of the game thus played. In the midst of a grand scrim- 
mage, where a score or so of players are plying their hockeys 
vigorously in the confined space of a few square yards, it 
cannot be but that some blows more or less awkward must 
be inflicted upon the heads and faces of those engaged. 

The game is played with a solid india-rubber ball from 
two to two and a half inches in diameter ; and the players, 
each with a hooked stick or " hockey," take opposite sides, 
and try to drive the ball through each other's goals. The 
goals, which should be marked each by two poles about ten 
feet apart and eight feet high, with a cord joining their tops, 
may be placed at from eighty to a hundred yards apart, and 
boundaries should be marked at the sides by flags or posts as 



44 boys' owk book. 

in football, leaving a space between them of about forty 
yards. To put the matter more exactly, the ground for a 
game with a dozen on a side should be about a hundred 
yards long by forty broad, while for numbers less than this 
it should be proportionately contracted. 

There is much variety of opinion as to the best form of 
hockey-stick, nearly every player of any pretensions having 
his own fancy ; but all kinds of hockey may be classed under 
two heads — those with a small hook and those with a large 
one, the difference between them being much the same as 
that between a rapier and a cavalry broadsword. As may 
be supposed, the better players mostly prefer the lighter and 
more wieldy though less powerful weapon, just as a flrst- 
rate fencer would prefer a light straight sword to a cutlass. 

In choosing a hockey, the young player should be careful 
not to overweight himself ; all the real work of the game is 
done by pure wrist-worTc ; the hockey, therefore, must not 
be of a greater weight than he can easily manage. 

The rules of the game are few and simple ; those for play 
are as follows : 

1. The choice of goals shall be decided by tossing, and 
the side winning the toss shall start the ball from a spot ten 
yards in front of their goal. 

2. The ball may only he played with the hockey; it shall, 
however, be lawful to stop the ball with the body or legs, 
but not with the hands. 

3. A goal is gained when the ball is played through be- 
tween the posts and under the cord by the opposing party, 
or in any way passed through by the side owning the goal. 

4. No player may strike the ball backhanded ; in every 
case the player must play facing the opponent's goal. 

5. A player is not permitted to loiter near the adversary's 
goal, but may be required to retire, while not playing at the 
ball, to a distance of at least twenty-five yards. 



BOYS OWN BOOK. 



45 




GAMES WITH MARBLES. 

There are three ways of shooting a marble. 1. Trolling, 
which consists in projecting the marble so that it rolls along 
the ground until it strikes the marble at which it is aimed ; 
2. Hoisting, where the marble is shot from, at or above the 
level of the knee, while the party stands ; and, Kriuclcling 
down, where the player shoots with the middle knuckle of his 
forefinger touching the ground, but makes his marble de- 
scribe a curve in the air .on its way to the ring, A boy has 
to be a good player, a "dabster," as they say, to knuckle 
down well. • 

To shoot a marble properly, it must be held between the 
tip of the fore-finger and the first joint of the thumb, resting 
on the bend of the second finger, and propelled forward by 
suddenly forcing up the thumb-nail. Some boys place it be- 
tween the bend of the first finger and the thumb joint. This 
is called " shooting cunnethumb," and not only subjects 
those who do it to the ridicule of their associates, but tires 
the thumb very much. 



46 boys' OWl^ BOOK. 

KNOCK-OUT. 

Two or more may play at this game. He who begins, 
throws a marble gently against a wall, so that it rebounds 
to a distance not exceeding a yard ; a second player throws 
another marble against the wall, endeavoring to make 
it rebound, so as to. strike or come within a span of the 
first ; if he can do neither, the first player takes up his own 
marble, and, in turn, strives to snop or span that of the 
second. The marble that is thus snopped or spanned, is 
won, and the winner begins again. Where only two play, it 
is best to knock out two or three marbles each, alternately, 
before they begin to use those on the ground. In this ease, 
a player may win his own marbles, as they are common 
stock when down, and take up which he pleases, to play 
with. 

AECH BOARD. 

This game is called "Nine-holes," also " Shoot through the 
Files ; " it has various names, and is sometimes played with 
iron bullets instead of marbles. The marbles are bowled at 
a board set upright, resembling a bridge, with nine small 
arches, all of them numbered ; if the marble strike against 
the sides of the arches, it becomes the property of the boy 
to whom the board belongs ; but, if it go through any one of 
them, the bowler claims a number equal to the number up- 
on the arch it passed through. We have seen the boards, 
in this game, marked above some of the arches with nihils, 
in this order : — 5, 0, 1, 2, 0, 3, 0, 4, 0. In some places, where 
there are no nihUs on the board, (pid the numbers go beyond 
five, the bowler not only loses his marble, if it strike against 
the sides of the arches, but also gives the board-keeper a 
marble each time he bowls. 

RING-TAW. 

The rules of Ring-taw vary in different places ; the fol- 
lowing are the most general : — A circle is drawn, into wliich 
each pai-ty places as many marbles as may be agreed on. A 



boys' own book. 47 

line, called the offing, is then drawn at some distance, from 
which each in turn shoots at the ring. Shooting a marble 
out of the ring, entitles the shooter to go on again, and thus 
the ring may be sometimes cleared by a good player, before 
his companion or companions have a chance. After the 
first fire, the players return no more to the offing, but shoot, 
when their turn comes, from the place where their marbles 
rested on the last occasion. Every marble struck out of 
the ring, is won by the striking party; but if the taw at 
any time remain in the ring, the player is not only out, but 
if he have previously in the course of the game struck out 
any marbles, he must put them in the ring again. And if 
one player strike with his taw the taw of another, the player 
whose taw is so struck, is out ; and if he have previously 
shot any marbles out of the circle, he must hand them over 
to the party by whose taw his has been so struck. 

THE PYRAMID, OR SHOOT THE DIE. 

A small circle is drawn on the ground, within which one 
player builds a pyramid, by placing three marbles triangu- 
larly, and a foui'th in 
the centre, on the top of 
them, or a die. Any other 
player may then shoot 
at the pyramid, at an 
agreed distance, by giv- . 
mg, for each time of ; 
shooting, to the one who 
keeps the pyramid,^ a 
marble. If the shooter strike the pyramid with his taw, 
as many of the marbles composing the pyramid as may 
be driven out of the circle, belong to the shooter, and 
the pyramid is constantly to be kept up complete by its 
owner. If a die is placed on the top, the striker is paid the 
number of the die that is uppermost. This is a good in- 
door game ; variety and additional interest may be given to 




48 boys' ow^ book. 

it, by each player taking the office of pyramid-keeper at 
stated intervals. 

mCREASE-POUKD. 

This is superior to any other game with marbles. It 
differs from ' ' Ring-taw " in the following particulars : — If, 
previously to any marble or shot bemg struck out of the 
ring or pound, the taw of one of the players be struck by 
the taw of another (except that of his partner), or in case 
he shoot his taw within the pound, in either case, he puts a 
shot in the ring, and before either of the others play, shoots 
from the offing and continues in the game ; but if the first 
of these events occur after one or more shots have been 
struck out of the pound, if he have previously, during that 
game, obtained any shots himself, he hands them over to 
the party who has struck him, and also puts a shot in as 
before, previously to his shooting from the offing ; but if he 
have previously obtained no shots during the game, he is 
put out of the game entirely, or " killed," by his taw being 
so struck ; and again, if after a shot or shots have been 
struck out of the pound, his taw get within it (on the line 
is nothing), he puts his shots, if he have obtained any, with 
an additional one, into the pound, and shoots from the off- 
ing ; but if he have not obtained a shot or shots after his taw 
so remains within the ring, " or gets fat," as it is called, he 
is "killed," and stands out for the remainder of the game. 
When there is only one marble left in the ring, the taw may 
then remain inside it, without being ' ' fat " at this game. 
The players seldom put more than one marble each in the 
ring at first. 

HOLES. 

Three small holes are dug, about a yard and a half 
asunder ; a line is drawn about two yards from the first hole, 
from which the players begin the game. Chance decides who 
shall have the first shoot; the object is to driA^e the marble 
into the first hole ; if this be done the player shoots again, 



boys' OWK BOOK. 49 

at the distance of a span, towards the second. If, however, 
he miss the hole the other player begins, and each shoots, 
alternately, as the other misses. After having shot the 
marble into a hole, the player is allowed, if his adversary's 
marble be near, to drive it with his own as far as he can, 
and if he strike it to shoot agam. The game is won by the 
player who gets into the last hole, in the following order : — 
first hole, second, third, — second, first, — second, third. 
The loser places his knuckles at the first hole, the winner 
shoots as near to it as he can from the line, and fires three 
times, from the place where his marble rests, at the loser's 
knuckles. 



Here are a few hints on taw -shooting. Do not aim directly 
at the marble, because you are always apt to use a little too 
much strength, and then the taw flies over the marble, and 
misses it altogether. Aim at the ground about a quarter of 
an inch in front of the marble, and then you will seldom 
miss. Even if you should strike the ground half an inch 
short, no harm wUl be done, the taw being sure to touch 
the top of the marble as it leaps from the ground ; and, if 
you should shoot a little too low, your taw wUl alight plump 
on the marble, and drive it to a distance. If you can 
possibly avoid it, do not let your taw roll towards the marble 
which you mean to strike, because any impediment or ob- 
stacle will be sure to turn it aside. 

It is worth every boy's while to practise taw-shooting, if 
only for five or ten minutes a day. He will soon gain an 
amount of precision and confidence which will thoroughly 
repay him for the trouble which he has taken. It must be 
borne in mind, that the reputation of being a certain shot 
at marbles is most useful. Tour adversaries will be afraid 
of you. They will not dare to take any liberties with the 
game. They will keep themselves at a respectful distance 
from your taw for fear of being killed; and so you may 
frighten them away from the ring, and pick out all the 
marbles at your pleasure. 
3 



50 boys' 0W2!f BOOK. 

HAKE AND HOUNDS. 

Choose among your playfellows one who is swift of foot 
and ready in resource to take the part of the hare ; and 
then, when you are all assembled, the game proceeds in the 
following manner : The hare, who provides himself with a 
pocketful of paper cuttings, has ten minutes' law given him, 
and away he starts. As soon as he is some distance from 
the hounds, he drops the paper cuttings here and there in 
his course, as a guide to the hounds. The paper cuttings 
are technically called "the scent." At the expiration of 
the term allowed for law, the hounds follow, at the top of 
their speed, in the direction indicated by the scent ; and the 
game is over when the hare is finally caught, — which, if he 
be active and ingenious, may take an hour or more. It is 
usual to elect a huntsman and whipper-in from among the 
fastest runners. These direct the hunt, call together the 
hounds, and generally superintend the arrangements. Some- 
times the hare is provided with a horn, which he blows 
when he considers he is far enough from his pursuers. The 
huntsman, too, generally carries a white flag, and the 
whipper-in a red one ; and when the scent is struck, oflE 
they all go, till they either find the hare, or proclaim him 
lost. It is, in this case, the huntsman's part to seek the 
trail of the hare, while the whipper-in keeps his hounds 
well together till the track is ref ound. Then Tally ho ! and 
foUow the white flag, wherever it goes, till the hare is fairly 
run to earth. If a long course be taken by the hare, it is as 
weU that he should provide himself with a pocket compass, 
or some other means of finding his way back to the starting 
place. 

HUNT THE STAG. 

This game differs only from the last in the fact that the 
stag is in sight of the hounds, instead of being hunted by 
scent — that is, by the pieces of paper dropped on his course. 
The stag has a minute's start. 



boys' own book. 



51 




SPORT 8 OF AGILITY AND SPEED. 

Many of the previous sports with balls and tops are in 
part games of agUity and speed, and so also are several of 
those which will be found among the Miscellaneous Minor 
Sports; but the following pastimes are exclusively games 
either of speed or agility, for which no implements are nec- 
essary. 

LEAP-FROG. 

This is a most excellent pastime. It should be played in 
a spacious place, out of doors if possible, and the more there 
are engaged in it, jjrovided they be of the same height and 
agility, the better is the sport. We will suppose a dozen at 
play : — Let eleven of them stand in a row, about six yards 
apart, with all their faces in one direction, arms folded, or 
their hands resting on their thighs, their elbows in, and 
their heads bent forward, so that the chin of each rests on 
his breast, the right foot advanced, the back a little bent, 
the shoulders rounded, and the body firm. The last begins 
the sport by taking a short ran, placing his hands on the 



62 boys' OWN" BOOK. 

shoulders of the nearest player, and leaping with their assist- 
ance (of course, springing with his feet at the same time) 
over his head, as represented in the cut. Having cleared 
the first, he goes on to the second, third, fourth, fifth, etc., 
in succession, and as speedily as possible. When he has gone 
over the last, he goes to the proper distance and places him- 
self in position for all the players to leap over him in their 
turn. The first over whom he passed, follows him over the 
second, third, -fourth, etc. ; and when he has gone over, the 
one who began the gam« places himself in like manner for 
the others to jump over him. The third follows the second, 
and so on until the parties are tired. 

PRISONERS' BASE. 

Prisoners' Base is truly a capital game for cold weather. 
The best number to play at it is six or eight on each side, 
but there is no objection to more or fewer players. The 
choice of partners is decided by chance ; a line, ten or twelve 
yards in length, is drawn about a dozen yards from a wall ; 
other lines are drawn at each end of the first, reaching 
thence to the wall, and the third from the middle of the first 
line to the wall ; one party takes possession of the bounds on 
one side of this middle, and the other set of players takes the 
bounds on the other side of it. Two prisons are also marked 
in a line with each other, at from one to two hundred yards 
(as convenience will permit) from the front of the bounds ; 
the prison belonging to one party must be opposite the 
bounds of the other. The game is now commenced by 
a player from one side running out midway between the 
bounds and prisons ; a player from the other side immediate- 
ly follows, and he may be pursued by one of his adversaries, 
who in like manner may be followed by a player from the 
side which began the game, and so on ; both parties being 
at liberty to send out as many a"s they think fit. The object 
of each player is to come up with, or intercept and touch 
any player of the opposite side, who has left the bounds be- 
fore him ; he is not at liberty to touch any that have started 



boys' OWN" BOOK. 53 

after him, it being their privilege, on the contrary, if they 
can, to touch him before he can get back within his bounds 
again. A player is allowed to touch one of the opposite 
party only each time he quits bounds, and after having 
touched an adversary, he is exempt from being touched on 
his return to bounds. Every player who is touched, goes to 
the prison belonging to his party, where he must remain 
until one of his own side (who must start from bounds after 
the prisoner has been within the line of the prison) be able 
to reach him, without being touched in his run from bounds 
to prison, by any of the opposite party who may have left 
their bounds after him. When thus released, neither he nor 
the player who has relieved him is to touch or be touched 
in their return to bounds again. The game is won by that 
side which has aU the players of the other in prison at the 
same time. 

SADDLE MY NAG. 

Two players toss up for choice of partners; six or eight on 
each side is the best number: after choosing, the two leaders 
toss up for innings, he who loses then ranges himself and his 
associates in the following manner: — One player places him- 
self almost upright, with his hands resting against a wall or 
tree, a second puts his head against the back of the first, the 
third against the back of the second, and so on until they 
are all ranged. They must either hold by the pants of the 
player who is before them, cross their arms on their breasts, 
or lean them on their knees. One of the winning party now 
begins by taking a run, placing his hands upon the back of 
the outer player on the other side, and leaping as far forward 
on the range as he possibly can, in order to afEord room for 
his partners behind him, who follow in succession, until all 
are on the backs of the other party. If they can all remain 
on without touching the ground with the hand or any other 
part, while the leader counts twenty, or if any of the other 
party sink beneath the weight, or touch the ground with 
their hands or knees to support themselves, the riders keep 



54 boys' owit book. 

their innings, and go on again. If, on the contrary, or in 
case there be not room enough for them to leap on, or they 
cannot keep on the backs of those who are on before them, 
they lose, and the other party become riders, and they nags. 

PUSS IN THE CORNER. 

This is a very simple, but at the same time, a very lively 
and amusing game. It is played by five only ; and the place 
chosen for the sport should be a square court or yard with 
four corners, or any place where there are four trees or posts, 
about equidistant from each other, and forming the four 
points of a square. Each of these points or corners is occu- 
pied by a player; the fifth, who is called Puss, stands in the 
centre. The game now commences ; the players exchange 
corners in all directions ; it is the object of the one who 
stands out, to occupy any of the corners which may remain 
vacant for an instant during the exchanges. "When he suc- 
ceeds in so doing, that playej- who is left without a corner 
becomes the Puss, It is to be observed that if A and B at- 
tempt to exchange corners, and A gets to B's corner, but B 
fails to reach A's before the player who stands out gets there, 
it is B and not A who becomes Puss. 

FOLLOW MY LEADER. 

Without a bold and active leader this sport is dull and 
monotonous ; with one possessing the necessary qualifications 
it is quite the contrary. Any number may play at it. A 
leader is fixed on, and the other players range themselves in 
a line behind him. He commences the sport by some feat of 
agility, such as leaping, hopping, or climbing, and his fol- 
lowers then attempt to perform it in succession. He then 
goes to another trial of skill ; the others, or so many of them 
as are able to do so, follow his example, and thus the sport 
proceeds until the parties think fit to cease. The most nim- 
ble and active should, of course, be chosen for a leader ; he 
should perform feats of such difficulty as to render the sport 



boys' 0W2<r BOOK. 55 

interesting, at the same time avoiding such as he knows can 
only be undertaken by himself, or by one or two of his fol- 
lowers. If one boy can perform a feat which those who are 
placed before him in rank fail in attempting, he takes pre- 
cedence of them until he is, in like manner, excelled by 
any of those who are behind him. 

TAG OR TOUCH. 
This is a sport of speed. Six or eight is the best number 
to play at it. One volunteers to be the player, who is called 
Touch ; it is the object of the other players to run from and 
avoid him. He pursues them all ; or, if he think fit, singles 
out an individual, and follows untU he comes up with and 
touches him. The player so overtaken becomes Touch, and 
then endeavors to get near enough to lay his hand upon one 
of the rest. This is an active and amusing, game for boys in 
cold weather. It is sometimes called Touch-iron or Touch- 
wood ; in these cases, the players are safe only while they 
touch iron or wood, as may be previously agreed. They are 
liable to be touched only when running from one piece of 
wood or iron to another. 

CROSS TOUCH. 

This is a mere modification of the preceding. Touch 
calls out the name of the player he intends to chase, and 
sets off after him ; the other players then run across between 
touch and the fugitive. Each time a player crosses between 
the two, touch must leave the original chase and follow the 
player who has crossed, and so on, perhaps chasing in turn 
every individual player before he can effect a capture. 

The same remark as to numbers holds good here as in the 
preceding. 




56 boys' 0W2>r BOOK. 



SPORTS with: toys 

THE POP-GUN. 

The Pop-gun is made of a piece of wood, from which 
the pith has been taken ; a rammer must be made, with a 
handle of a proper length, which should have a shoulder to 
prevent the slender or ramrod point going the entire length 
of the gun ; the pellets are made of moistened tow or brown 
paper. Put one into one end of the gim, push it with the 
rod to the other, and then placing a second pellet at the end 
where the first was inserted, piish that toward the opposite 
end, and it will drive the first pellet out with great force. 
Pop-guns are also made with quills, the pellets for which are 
cut by the quills out of slices of raw potato. 

THE SUCKER. 

Cut a circular piece out of stout leather ; bore a hole 
through its centre and pass a string, with a knot to prevent 
the end escaping, through this hole. Soak the leather well 
in water before you use it ; when thoroughly soaked, place 
the leather on a stone, press it well down with your foot, 
and then taking the string, you may, by your sucker, raise 
a considerable weight. ^ 

THE HOOP. 

Everybody knows how to roll the Hoop in the usual way; 
several pairs of tin squares are sometimes nailed to the inner 
part of the hoop, which produce, in the opinion of some 
boys, an agreeable jingle. There is no horse, however well 
trained, which obeys the hands of the rider with such pre- 
cision. There is no ship, with the best j)ilot, which ^o cor- 
rectly follows the guidance of its rudder. Here is a hoop, 
ruled by a stick, which manoeuvres it and drives it over the 
ground in all directions,— to the right, to the left, straight on, 
backward, forward, dcscribiug a curve, a broken line, a circle. 



boys' OWJSr BOOK. 



57 




a triangle, or, in a word, all the series of geometrical figures. 
Many players can contest together with their hoops, and 
challenge each other, to know who shall drive his hoop the 
longest time without getting out of breath, or who shall 
first reach a goal agreed on. In this latter case, all the 
players taking part in the contest should' stand together 
on the same line, and start at a given signal. Lastly, I 
shall indicate one of the most amusing exercises with the 
hoop. When the players are numerous, they divide them- 
selves into two parties, each armed with his hoop and stick. 
The two parties place themselves opposite each other, leav- 
ing between them a convenient space ; and further, each 
player leaves between himself and his companion on either 
side, a space wide enough for another' player to pass easily 
between. These precautions taken, every one being at his 
post, with his stick in hand, and his hoop resting on the 
ground, ready to start, the two parties, at a given signal, 
set out at the same moment to meet one another, each 
player endeavoring to steer his hoop between two others, 
in such a way as neither to jostle against the hoops on the 
right or left-hand sides, which meet him in the opposite 



58 boys' owk book. 

direction. When the two parties have thus changed sides, 
and have arrived at the extremity of the bases, they turn 
round, and players and hoops again cross one another, re- 
sembling a little war, in whish each party counts his wounds, 
by the number of sticks and hoops lying scattered on the 
field of battle. 

The hoop is, like the skipping rope, one of the best kinds 
of exercise for gi"\dng strength and suppleness to the limbs. 
The hoop was -known to the ancients, and took part in the 
public games. But it appears that they did not make it 
turn on its axis as we do, but restricted themselves to 
swinging it round their heads, and throwing it up, and 
receiving it on a little metal rod. The hoop they used was 
made of metal, to which many rings were attached. Ac- 
cording to the testimony of an ancient author, the move- 
ment given to the hoop with the metal rod was sometimes 
so rapid, that the noise of the rings was not heard ; at other 
times it was swung with less violence, so that the sound of 
the rings produced an agreeable sensation on the ear. The 
author wishes without doubt to show that this game with 
the hoop was looked upon as an exercise capable of con- 
tributing to the 'health. 

THE PEA-SHOOTER. 

By means of a tube of tin or copper, a pea may be pro- 
pelled from the mouth, by the mere force of the breath, to a 
very considerable distance. The natives of Macouslie, with 
a cane tube about twelve feet long, propel arrows with their 
breath, with such force and dexterity as to bring down 
different sorts of feathered game, 

THE KITE. 

To construct the Kite, you must, in the first place, pro- 
cure a straight lath of deal for the upright, and a thin hoop 
or a pliant piece of hazel for the bow or bender. Fasten 
the bender by its centre, with string, to the upright, within 



BOYS OWN BOOK. 



59 




a little distance of its top ; then notch the two ends of the 
bow, and fasten them to the upright by a string, which is 
made fast at each of the ends, and turned 
once round the upright as a, h, c ; the string 
must then be carried up to the junction of 
the bow and straighter, and made fast at d, 
and thence to a; from a it must pass 
through a notch at e, up to c / then down 
to /, where it must be tied in a notch cut 
for that purpose, and up to a again. Your 
skeleton being now complete, your next 
task is to paste a sufficient quantity of 
paper together to cover it, and afford a hem to be pasted 
over the outer edges. Next, bore two holes in the straighter, 
one about a fifth of the whole length from the top, and the 
other rather less from tlie bottom ; run through these, and 
fasten, by a knot at the two ends, your belly-band string, to 
which the ball of string, by which the kite is flown, is after- 
ward fixed. The wings are made of several sheets of paper, 
half cut in slips, roUed up fastened at a and c. The tail, 
which should be from ten to fifteen times the length of the 




60 boys' OWJSr BOOK. 

kite, is made by tying pieces of paper, four times folded, 
about an inch and a half broad, and three inches long, at 
intervals of three inches and a quarter, on a string, with a 
a large bob, similar to the wings, at the bottom of it. Your 
kite is now complete, and fit to be flown in the usual 
manner. 

It is well known that the celebrated Doctor Franklin once 
let up a kite previous to his entering the water to bathe, and 
then, lying on his back, suffered himself to be drawn across 
a stream by its power. 

THE WATCH-SPRING GUN. 

Neatly cut a bit of wood, about four inches long, into the 
form of the stock of a pistol or gun ; scoop a groove in the 
upper part of it ; in this groove place a large quill, open at 
both ends, fasten it on with wax thread, and let it project 
beyond the point of the stock and reach as far as the middle 
of it ; next, procure an old watch-spring, which may be 
bought cheap at a watchmaker's, cut off a piece of it about 
as long as the quill, bend it backward, and tie one end of 
it fijmly to the upper part or but end of the stock. Then 
bore a small hole through the middle of the stock about an 
inch from the mouth of the quill ; cut a pin in two, fasten 
one half of it, by its head, to a bit of thread, the other end 
of which fasten to the thread that binds on the spring ; this 
is the trigger, and your gun is complete. To use it, place a 
little arrow, or a shot, in the groove between the mouth of 
the quill and the hole in the stock ; put the pin through 
this hole, and bend back the spring so that the pin may 
catch it ; take the toy in your right hand, pull the trigger 
out with the fore-finger, and the spring being thus released, 
will di'ive the shot, or arrow, through the quill to a consider- 
able distance. If you use arrows you may shoot at a little 
butt or target. 



BOYS OWN BOOK. 



61 







swiMMma. 



Swimming has now become an art, and certain rules may 
be given for its attainment, by the aid of which, and a little 
practice, the most timid may eventually acquire this neces- 
sary art. "In addition to its advantages as a healthy and 
bracing exercise, humanity alone, the pleasure of being not 
only able to preserve our own lives, but those of others,, 
ought certainly to be sufl&eient inducement to acquire a 
dexterity in this most useful art. The iipsetting of the 
slender boats of the natives of Otaheite is to them a subject 
of merriment ; they swim about, take^old of the light vessel, 
right her again, and paddle away, never considering they 
have been in any danger. Were the practice of swimming 
universal in this country, and it might be so, we should 
hardly ever read of deaths by drowning." It would be use- 
less to enlarge further upon the advantages to be derived 



63 boys' 0W2S" BOOK. 

from acquiring this art ; they must be evident to the most 
inexperienced. 

Before we proceed to those rules by which our youthful 
readers may be enabled to attain proficiency, wo conceive 
that we shall be conferring a benefit on them by offering to 
their notice some extracts from the excellent advice of the 
celebrated philosopher, Doctor Franklin, on this subject. 

DOCTOR .FRAlq"KLm'S ADVICE TO SWIMMERS. 

" The only obstacle to improvement in this necessary and 
life-preserving art is fear ; and it is only by overcoming this 
timidity, that you can expect to become a master of the fol- 
lowing acquirements. It is very common for novices in the 
art of swimming to make use of corks or bladders to assist 
in keeping the body above water; some have iitterly con- 
demned the use of them ; however, they may be of service 
for supporting the body, while one is learning what is called 
the stroke, or that manner of drawing in and striking out 
the hands and feet, that is necessary to produce progressive 
motion. But you will be no swimmer till you can place 
confidence in the power of the water to support you; I 
would, therefore, advise the acquiring that confidence in the 
first place; especially as 1 have known several, who, by a 
little practice necessary for that purpose, have insensibly 
acquired the stroke, taught as if it were by nature. The 
practice I mean is this : choosing a place where the water 
deepens gradually, walk coolly into it till it is up to your 
breast ; then turn round your face to the shore, and throw 
an egg into the water between you and the shore ; it will 
sink to the bottom, and be easily seen there if the water be 
clear. It must lie in the water so deep that you cannot 
reach to take it up but by diving for it. To encourage your- 
self, in order to do this, refiect that your progress will be 
from deep to shallow water, and that at any time you may 
by bringing your legs under you, and standing on the bot- 
tom, raise your head far above the water ; then plunge under 
it with your eyes open, which must be kept open before go- 



BOYS' OWN" BOOK. 63 

ing under, as you cannot open the eyelids for the weight of 
water above you, throwing yourself toward the egg, and en- 
deavoring, by the action of your hands and feet against the 
water, to get forward, till within reach of it. In this at- 
tempt you will find that the water buoys you up against your 
inclination ; that it is not so easy to sink as you imagine, and 
that you cannot but by active force get down to the egg. 
Thus you feel the power of water to support you, and learn 
to confide in that power, while your endeavors to overcome 
it, and reach the egg, teach you the manner of acting on the 
water with your feet and hands, which action is afterwards 
used in swimming to support your head higher above the 
water, or to go forward through it. 

"I would the more earnestly press you to the trial of this 
method, because, though I think I shall satisfy you that 
your body is lighter than water, and that you might float in 
it a long time with your mouth free for breathing, if you 
would put yourself into a proper posture, and would be still, 
and forbear struggling; yet, till you have obtained this ex- 
perimental confidence in the water, I cannot depend upon 
your having the necessary presence of mind to recollect the 
posture and the directions I gave you relating to it. The 
surprise may put all out of your mind. 

" Though the legs, arms, and head of a human body be- 
ing solid parts, are, specifically, somewhat heavier than fresh 
water, yet the trunk, particularly the upper part, for its hol- 
lowness, is so much lighter than water, as that the whole of 
the body, taken altogether, is too light to sink wholly under 
water, but some part will remain above, until the lungs be- 
come filled with water, which happens from drawing wa- 
ter to them instead of air, when a person, in the fright, at- 
tempts breathing, while the mouth and nostrils are under 
water. ^ 

" The legs and arms are specifically lighter than salt water, 
and will be supported by it, so that a human body cannot 
sink in salt water, though the lungs were filled as above, but 
from the greater specific gravity of the head. Therefore, a 



64 boys' owk book. 

person throwing himself on his back in salt water, and ex- 
tending his arms, may easily lay so as to keep his mouth and 
nostrUs free for breathing ; and, by a small motion of his 
hand, may prevent turning, if he should perceive any ten- 
dency to it. 

"In fresh water, if a man throw himself on his back, 
near the surface, he cannot long continue in that situation 
but by proper action of his hands on the water ; if he use no 
such action, the legs and lower part of the body wlU. gradu- 
ally sink till he come into an upright position, in which he 
will continue suspended, the hoUow of his breast keeping 
the head uppermost. 

" But if, in this erect position, the head be kept upright 
above the shoulders, as when we stand on the ground, the 
immersion will, by the weight of that part of the head that 
is out of the water, reach above the mouth and nostrils, 
pehraps a little above the eyes, so that a man cannot long 
remain suspended in water, with his head in that posi- 
tion. 

. "The body continuing suspended as before, and upright, 
if the head be leaned quite back, so that the face look up- 
ward, all the back part of the head being under water, and 
its weight, consequently, in a great measure supported by it, 
the face will remain above water quite free for breathing, 
will rise an inch higher every inspiration, and sink as much 
every expiration, but never so low as that the water may 
come over the mouth. 

"If, therefore, a person unacquainted with swimming, 
and falling accidentally into the water, could have presence 
of mind sufficient to avoid struggling and plunging, and to 
Jet the body take this natural position, he might continue 
long safe from drowning, till, perhaps, help should come ; 
fqr, as to the clothes, their additional weight when immersed 
is very inconsiderable, the water supporting it ; though, 
when he comes out of the water, he would find them very 
heavy indeed. 

"But, as I said before, I would not advise you, or any 



boys' owk book. 



65 



one, to depend on having this presence of mind on such an 
occasion, but learn fairly to swim, as I wish all men were 
taught to do in their youth ; they would, on many occasions, 
be the safer for having that skill ; and, on many more, the 
happier, as free from painful apprehensions of danger, to 
say nothing of the enjoyment in so delightful and whole- 
some an exercise. Soldiers particularly should, methinks, 
all be taught to swim ; it might be of frequent use, either in 
surprising an enemy or saving themselves. 




PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS. 



ENTERING THE WATER. 

Our young pupil must not, at first, venture into the water 
in the bold and dashing manner of experienced swimmers. 
He must wait patiently until he can do so without danger. 
Let him remember that there has been a time when the best 
swimmer alive, tottered, step by step, into the water, and 
sounded the depth with one foot before he lifted the other 
from the bottom of the stream. We recommend our young 
friend to be patient, as well as persevering, during his pro- 
bation in the art of swimming. He must not feel disgusted 
and disheartened, because he seems to make comparatively 
but little progress ; let him remember that he is gradually 
acquiring a new and most important power, and is, by 



66 



BOYS' OW]Sr BOOK. 



degrees, obtaining a mastery over the waters. It was well 
observed by a writer of great discernment, that nothing 
which is worth learning is compassed without some difficulty 
and application; that it is well worth some pains and trouble 
to render one's self fearless of falling into a river, in which 
two out of three of our fellow-countrymen would, in a similar 
situation, without assistance, be drowned, must be admitted; 
let not that trouble, therefore, be grudged. 

Previously to entering the water, the head and neck 
should be well wetted ; the pupil should then advance, by a 
clear shelviag bank, in some stream, the depth of which he 
has ascertained by plumbing or otherwise, until he is breast 
high ; then let him face about toward the bank, and pre- 
pare to make his first essay in this art, as directed in the 
next paragraph. 

STRIKING OUT. 

With his face turned toward the bank, as above directed, 
let the pupU lie down gently on his breast, keep his head 
and neck upright, his breast advanced, and his back bent 

inward. Then, let him 
withdraw his legs from 
the bottom, and im- 
mediately strike them 
out, not downward, but 
behind him ; strike out 
the arms forward, with 
the palms closed, and 
the backs uppermost, a little below the surface of the water; 
draw them back again, while he is gathering up his legs 
for a second attempt, and thus push forward, making use 
of his hands and feet alternately. It wUl, perhaps, happen, 
that he will swallow water in his first efforts, but this should 
not discourage him; neither should he fancy that, because 
he makes but little advances, he is not as capable of learn- 
ing to swim as others; the same little mishaps occur to all 
young beginners. 




BOYS OWK BOOK. 



67 



CORKS AND BLADDERS. 

The use of corks and bladders, for those who are learning 
to swim, is as strongly recommended by some persons, as it 
is deprecated by others. That the necessary action with 
the arms and legs may be acquired more easily with than 
without them, is clear enough; nevertheless, we are con- 
vinced by experience, that it is better to learn how to keep 
one's self afloat and to be able to swim ten or a dozen yards, 
at least, no matter how clumsily, without them. We have 
seen several young persons who, after having attained the 
necessary action, in a very superior manner, by the use of 
corks or bladders, were totally unable to keep their heads 
above the water when they relinquished their aid, and were 
thus left precisely in the same situation in which they would 
have been had they not made a single attempt in the art of 
swimming. We have, it iS true, known some trifling ex- 
ceptions, but they have been rare indeed. Corks and blad- 
ders, we think, may be useful, but they should not be com- 
menced with. After the learner has made some progress, 
and is able to cross a narrow stream, corks and bladders 
may be occasionally adopted for a short time, in order that 
the pupil, by means of their support, may, at his ease, per- 
fect himself in the action necessary for superior swimming,- 
especially with the arms and hands. The action of the legs 
may be much better acquired by means of the plank, as 
thereafter directed. The best swimmers we have ever met 
never made use of corks for this purpose, but stUl they may 
be considered of advantage in the manner we have stat- 
ed. If, therefore, 
our reader should 
think fit to use '^^ 
corks or bladders, 
let him attend to 
the following 
hints : 

Swimming corks 
are made thus : three or four round slices of cork, increas- 




68 BOTS' OWN BOOK. 

ing progressively in circumference, are run, by a hole made 
in their centres, on each end of a piece of stoijt rope, which 
is long enough to reach across the breast, and beyond the 
arm-pits ; the same number of corks is placed at each side 
of the rope, and they are kept from slipping ofE by knots at 
the two extremities. "When bladders are used, they are 
blown full of air, tied at the necks, and fastened by strings 
to the ends of the rope, instead of corks. 

The manner of using corks or bladders is as follows : — the 
pupil places his breast across the rope between the corks or 
bladders as they float ; he raises his legs from the ground, 
and rests his whole weight on the rope, so that the corks or 
bladders swim between his arms and his sides. In this 
position he strikes out, and propels himself forward with 
his legs and feet. The action of the hands and arms sup- 
ports a swimmer only, so that he would advance almost as 
much when using corks if he kept them stUl as if he moved 
them; nevertheless, their action may be perfected, while 
the body is supported by the corks, and the young swimmer 
may acquire that graceful, steady, and powerful manner of 
striking out, which he may subsequently by degrees bring 
into practice, when he has thrown the corks aside. This is 
the manner which we have always followed, and which we 
recommend our young friends to adopt, of striking out with 
the arms. The fingers are to be closed, and the thumbs 
kept close to the hand, which should be straightened, or 
rather, a little hollowed in the palm ; the hands are then 
to be brought together, the two thumbs touching, or palm 
to palm, it is little matter which, and raised just under the 
chin ; they are then to be struck vigorously forward, and when 
the arms are at their full stretch, parted, and carried slowly 
and regularly, a little below the surface of the water, at the 
full stretch of the arms, backward, as far as convenience 
will permit; they should then sink toward the hips; by a 
slight pressure on the water, as they descend, the body will 
be raised, the head may be thrown back, and the breath 
drawn in for the next stroke. When the hands are at, or 



boys' OW]Sr BOOK. 69 

near, the hips, they should be raised, with the thumbs or 
edges, but by no means the backs, upward, to the first 
position ; whiJ^ doing this, the legs are to be drawn up as 
near the body as possible, and the soles of the feet struck 
out against the water with reasonable force, at the same 
moment the hands are thrust forward again. This is, in 
fact, the whole principle of swimmmg : — the arms are first 
thrust forward, and the body propelled by the force of the 
soles of the feet, striking against the water ; the air in the 
lungs is expired or breathed forth during this action; the 
hands are then stretched out and carried round so as to lift 
the body (which wants no support during the time it is pro- 
pelled by the legs, and the lungs are nearly full of air), 
while the legs are drawn up, and the lungs filled with air 
for a second effort. These A'ery simple motions wUl seem 
difficult and complicated to the young swimmer at first, but 
by degrees he will learn to perform them with facility. 
Above all things, let him endeavor to do them deliberately 
and without being flurried. It is a fact, that a swimmer, 
who is apparently slow in his action, makes more progress 
by half than one who is quick. The former is deliberate 
and vigorous; the latter hurried, less effectual, and soon 
becomes fatigued. 

We seriously recommend our young readers never to ven- 
ture out of their depths with corks, if they cannot swim 
without them. We once knew a very promising youth who 
was nearly drowned, when in deep water, by the corks 
slipping from his breast to below his waist, so that his loins, 
and at last his legs, were above water, while his head was 
beneath ; he was extricated from his perilous situation by a 
youth of his own age, who had begun to learn the art of 
swimming, but without corks, on precisely the same day as 
the lad who was thus in danger of being drowned. It 
would be well, if a string were tied by its middle to each 
end of the rope, close to the largest cork, and one end of it 
brought over the shoulder at the back, the other in front, 
and fastened securely together ; this would, at least, prevent 
the corks from getting out of their proper places. 




70 boys' owjsr book. 

THE PLAIfK. 

The plank is useful in a bath, to perfect the young swim- 
mer in the manner of properly throwing ont his legs and 
feet. A piece of plank, about ten or twelve feet in length, 
x s'«?^S^-^i. two inches thick, 

^^m^ and a foot and a 

half, or two feet 
broad, is the best 
size. It is to be 
thrown into the wa- 
ter, and the pupU, 
after he has acquired the art of supporting himself for a 
short time, without any artificial aids, should take hold of 
one of its ends with both hands ; his body wUl thus be sup- 
ported, and he should strike out with his legs in the manner 
before directed, and endeavor to drive the plank before him, 
taking care to hold fast and follow it closely, otherwise he 
may sufEer rather an unpleasant feeling by the plank darting 
forward, and leaving him to sink, unexpectedly, over head 
and ears in the water. Of the utility of the plank for the 
purpose above mentioned, we have frequently been witness 
and can, therefore, most confidently recommend it to those 
of our young readers who have an inclination to learn the 
art of swimming by occasional or preliminary artificial 
aids. 

THE ROPE, AKD OTHER AIDS. 

The rope for swimmers is usually fastened to the end of a 
stout piece of wood, which is fixed into a waU or elsewhere, 
so as to project over the water; the rope descends to its 
surface, or it may be long enough for a foot or sixteen inches 
of its extremity to sink. The use of the rope is to support 
the learner while practising the action with his legs ; but it 
is very inferior for this purpose to the plank ; as, while the 
pupU keeps himself up, by holding the rope, his body re- 
mains in too perpendicular a position, so that he strikes 
downward rather than backward. The pupil should ac- 



boys' owk book. 



71 



custom himself, as much as possible, to keep Ms legs near 
the surface ; for those who swim with the lower extremities 
deep in the water never make such rapid way as others who 
adopt the proper position, which should be within a few 
degrees of horizontal. The plank has another advantage 
over the rope; it is more steady in the water, and offers 
sufficient resistance to induce, and even to assist, the young 
beginner, as a point cfappui, to strike out vigorously with 
his legs. The rope is, in fact, of more utility to those who 
go into the water to bathe, than those who are learning to 
swim; for by means of the support which it affords the 
bather may raise his 
legs from the bottom, 
and exercise himself 
most beneficially by tos- 
sing, stretching, and 
turning to and fro in 
the water ; he may thus 
luxuriate in a manner 
which would be entirely 
out of his power with- 
out the aid of the rope. 
The aid of the hand 
is chiefly appHed to very young learners, who have the advan- 
tage of bathing with a grown-up swimmer. It is by far 
superior as an aid, to corks or bladders ; because it can be with- 
drawn gradually, and at last altogether, so that the learner 
may feel almost insensible of its departure, and restored in 
an instant, if exertion renders him too weak to support 
himself. A tall, strong youth, or a grown-up person, takes 
the little learner in his arms, and goes into the water breast- 
high with him ; he then places the pupU nearly flat upon 
the water, supporting him by one hand under the breast, 
and encouraging and directing him to strike out boldly, 
and, at the same time, correctly. After two or three lessons, 
on different days, the support of the hand may occasionally 
be, in some degree, withdrawn; and, in the course of a 




72 boys' OWi^ BOOK. 

week or ten days, the little swimmer will, in all probability, 
have no further need of its service. Oh! what a happy, 
triumphant moment is that, when a boy first floats upon the 
water, independent of all other aids but those which Nature 
has provided iu his own person. He soon becomes exhaust- 
ed, but, from that time, he feels a confidence in himself, 
and his progress is generally most rapid. 

The aid of the rope and hand we do not so much approve 
as that of the hand alone. A rope is fastened about the 
learner's body, a grown person holds the other end of 
it, and supports the pupil while he aeqiiires the mode of 
striking out. The aid, in this case, cannot be applied 
with such precision to the proper part nor afforded and 
withdrawn with such nicety as where the hand alone is 
used. 

SWIMjnNG OUT OF DEPTH. 

"We will now suppose our pupU to have made some pro- 
gress in swimming, and to feel anxious to go into deep water. 
If he feel quite conscious of his own powers, he may venture 
a few strokes out of his depth, across a stream, for instance, 
which is overhead only for a few feet in the centre, with shelv- 
ing banks on each side. Young swimmers sometimes feel 
alarmed when they are aware that they have ventured where 

they can no longer put 

x^^^^^^^^^ i^xX )^p^ their legs on the ground ; 

this feeling flurries 
them, they strike quick ; 
their hurry increases, 
trepidation ensues, and 
they have great diffi- 
culty in returning to the shore. We earnestly caution our 
pupU against giving way to anything of this sort. Before 
he ventures out of his depth, let him calculate his own 
powers, and attempt such a distance only as is in pro- 
portion with them. Is he able to swim half a dozen 
yards without dropping his feet to the ground? If so, he 




boys' owk book. 73 

may confidently cross a deep place which is only half that 
breadth. Let him not imagine that he is not quite as 
capable of swimming in deep as in shallow water ; the con- 
trary is the fact, for the deeper the water the better he can 
swim. Above all things, let him not hurry himself, but 
strike slowly and evenly, and keep good time with the mo- 
tions of his arms, his legs, and his lungs. Boys frequently 
fall into an error, which is invariably attended with unpleas- 
ant consequences, when first attempting to swim, as well as 
when they begin to venture out of depth, by losing their 
presence of mind and breathing at the wrong time. They 
draw breath at the moment when they are striking out with 
their legs, instead of at the time their body is elevated by the 
hands, when at the full stretch of the arm backward, or in 
descending toward the hips. During this action of the legs, 
the head partially sinks, the face is driven against the water, 
and the mouth thus becomes filled, which creates a very un- 
pleasant nausea and momentary suffocation. When the 
hands are in the position above mentioned, the progress of 
the body forward ceases, the face is no longer driven against 
the water, but is elevated above the surface; then is the 
time to draw in the breath, which should be expired while 
the body at the next stroke is sent forward by the action of 
the legs. During this time, if your mouth be even with or 
partially under the surface, no water can enter it, the air 
which you are driving between your lips effectually prevent- 
ing it. " Keep time," is one of the swimmer's golden rules. 
Unless the pupil pay attention to it, he wUl make but little 
progress, and must inevitably, now and then, take in a 
mouthful of the stream in which he is swimming. To those 
who havo never swam " in the silver flood," a circumstance 
of this sort will be thought very lightly of indeed ; but we 
speak the general feelings of swimmers, when we say, that 
the same person who would relish a draught from a stream 
when sitting dressed upon its bank, would feel the greatest 
disgust at taking a mouthful of the same water when swim- 
ming in it. 



74 boys' ow2sr book. 

After the pupil has ventured out of Ms depth, and feels 
satisfied with the success of his attempt, he grows em- 
boldened, and increases his distances daily. 

TO TREAD WATER, 

All that is necessary for treading water, is to let your legs 
drop in the water until you are upright ; then keep yourself 
afloat in that position by treading downward with your feet, 
alternately, and if necessary paddling with your palms at 
your hips. 

TO SWIM OK THE SIDE. 

Lower your left side, and at the same time elevate your 
right ; strike forward with your left hand, and sideways with 
your right ; the back of the latter being in front instead of 
upward, the thumb side of the hand downward, so as to 
serve precisely as an oar. Tou will thus, by giving 
your body an additional impetus, advance much more 
speedily than in the common way ; it will also relieve you 
considerably when you feel tired of striking out forward. 
You may also turn on the right side, strike out with the 
right hand, and use the left as an oar. In either ease, the 
action of the legs is the same as usual. 

TO SWIM LIKE A DOG. 

Strike with each hand and foot alternately ; that is, 
begin with the right hand and foot, draw the hand toward 
the chin, and the foot toward the body at the same time ; 
and then simultaneously kick backward with the foot and 
strike out in a right line with the hand ; then do the like 
with the left hand and foot, and so on. The hands are not 
to be carried backward as in the ordinary way of swimming, 
but merely thrust out with palms downward, a little way 
below the surface, in front only ; as they are brought back 
to the breast again, they should be rather hollowed, and the 
water grasped or pulled toward the swimmer. Much pro- 
gress cannot be made by swimming in this manner, but stOl 



boys' OWlf BOOK. 75 

it is worth learning, as every change of method in going a 
distance, recruits the swimmer's strength. 

THE POKPOISE. 

This is a very pleasant and most advantageous change of 
action. The right arm is lifted entirely out of the water, 
the shoulder thrust forward, and the swimmer, while strik- 
ing out with his legs, reaches forward with his hand, as far 
as possible. At the utmost stretch of the arm the hand falls, 
a nttle hollowed, into the water, which it grasps or pulls 
toward the swimmer in its return to the body, in a trans- 
verse direction, toward the other armpit. "While it is pass- 
ing through the water in this manner, the legs are drawn up 
for another effort, and the left arm and shoulder elevated 
and thrust forward as above directed for the right. This is 
the greatest advancing relief in swimming, except swimming 
on the back; floating on the back rests the whole of the 
body as well as the limbs, but while floating no progress is 
made; whereas, during the time a person swims in the 
manner above directed, he will not only relieve himself con- 
siderably, but also make as great an advance in the water as 
if he were proceeding in the ordinary way. 

TO SWIM AND FLOAT ON THE BACK. 

To do this you must turn yourself on your back as gently 
as possible, elevate your breast above the surface, put your 
head back, so that your ^ ,-,:„i=_ 

eyes, -nose, mouth and -i:=-';?-i---=_ ^^^^mlp^^^" " 

chin only are above , _ ^^^gg^ ^ ^^^^ ^g- ' v"— r_ 

water. By keeping in ^^^^^^ ^ ^ l;^fl~ ^^^^^^ ^^^^£^ 

legs and arms extend- _--^^^ ^^ s_,^^_ ^^_- ^^3^^^^^^ g^'^ ' 
ed, and paddling the "^ 

hands gently by the side of the hips, you will float. If you 
wish to swim, you must strike out with the legs, taking 
care not to lift your knees too high, nor sink your hips 



76 boys' OWIf BOOK. 

and sides too low ; but keeping in as straight a line as pos- 
sible. You may lay the arms across the breast ; keep them 
motionless at the side; or, if you wish, strike out with them 
to help you on. 

To swim with your feet forward, while on your back, lift 
up your legs one after another, let them fall into the water, 
and draw them back with aU the force you can, toward your 
hams ; thus you will swim feet forward, and return to the 
place whence you came. 

To turn from your breast to your back, raise your legs 
forward, and throw your head backward, until your body is 
in a right position ; to change from the back to the 
breast, drop your legs, and throw your body forward on 
your breast. 

TO TURN WHEN SWIMBONG. 

If you wish to turn while on your back, keep one leg stiU, 
and embrace the water beside you with the other ; thus, you 
will find yourself turn to that side on which your leg by its 
motion embraces the water, and you wUl turn either to the 
right or left, according to which leg you use in this manner. 

To turn while swimming in the ordinary way requires no 
further effort than to incline your head and body to the side 
you would turn to, and at the same time move and turn 
your legs in the same manner as you would do to turn the 
same way on land. 

TO SHOW THE FEET. 

While on your back, bend the small of it downward; sup- 
port yourself by moving your hands to and fro just above 
your breast, and stretch your feet above the water. 

THE CRAMP. 

Our practical directions in the art of swimming would be 
incomplete were we to omit saying a few words as to the 
cramp. Those who are at aU liable to it, ought, perhaps, to 
abandon aU idea of swimming; men of the greatest skill as 



boys' own book. 



77 



swimmers, and of presence of mind in danger, having fallen 
victims to this, which has been well enough called "the 
bathers' bane." The cramp may, however, seize a person 
for the first time in his life, when at a distance from land ; 
we have frequently known this to occur ; and in every case 
that has come within our personal knowledge, with one ex- 
ception, the sufEerer has saved himself by acting as we are 
about to advise our young reader, if ever he should be seized 
with this terrible contraction. Be assured that there is no 
danger, if you are only a tolerable swimmer, and do not 
flurry yourself. The moment you feel the cramp in your 
leg or foot, strike out the limb with all your strength, 
thrusting the heel out, and drawing the toes upward as forci- 
bly as possible, totally regardless of the momentary pain it 
may occasion. If two or three efforts of this nature do not 
succeed, throw yourself on your back, and endeavor to keep 
yoxirself afloat with your hands until assistance reach you; 
or, if there be no hope of that, try to paddle ashore with 
your palms. Should you be unable to float on your back, 
put yourself in the position directed for treading water, and 
you may keep your head above the surface by merely strik- 
ing the water downward with your hands at your hips, 
without any assistance from your legs. In case you have 
the cramp in both legs, 
you may also endeav- 
or to make some pro- 
gress in this manner, 
should no help be at 
hand. If you have 
one leg only attacked, 
you may drive your- 
self forward with the 
other. In order to 
endow you with con- 
fidence in a moment 
of danger from an attack of the cramp, occasionally try 
to swim with one leg, or a leg and a hand, or the two 




78 boys' owh book. 

hands only, and you will find that it is by no means dif- 
ficult. 

We feel rather astonished that none of the treatises on 
swimming, which have fallen into our hands, recommend 
the practice of boys attempting to carry one another in the 
water; when both can swim this is an excellent and safe 
method of learning how to support another who is in dan- 
ger on account of cramp, weakness, ignorance of swimming, 
or other causes. In the annexed sketch, the foremost figure 
is in the act of swimming, and carrying with him another 
person, who is borne up, simply by applying one hand to 
each hip of his companion. A person, it is said, had the 
pleasure of saving a friend from drowning, by these means : 
it is attended, however, with considerable risk, especially if 
the person you venture to rescue should lose his presence 
of mind, which is too often the case with those who are in 
danger of being drowned. It will surprise any swimmer, 
who first tries the experiment, to find with what ease he 
can support a person attached to him in this manner. 
The person who rests upon the hips of his companion, is rep- 
resented as passive, as he is supposed to be unable to swim ; 
but two swimmers, performing this experiment, may strike 
out together with their legs. 

PLACES FOR SWIMMING, 

Of all places to swim in, the sea is best, running waters 
next, and ponds the worst. 

DIVING. 

Diving, by practice, may be carried to astonishing perfec- 
tion. Pearls are brought up from the bottom of the sea by 
divers who are trained to remain a considerable time under 
water. In ancient times, divers were employed in war to 
destroy the ships of the enemy ; and many instances are re- 
lated, by respectable authors, of men diving after, and 
fetching up nails and pieces of money thrown into the sea, 
and even overtaking the nail or coin before it has reached 
the bottom. 



boys' owi^ book. 



79 




Diving may be performed from the surface of the water 
when swimming, by merely turning the head downward, 

and striking upward 
with the legs. It is, 
however, much bet- 
ter, to leap in, with 
the hands closed 
above the head, and 
head foremost, from' 
a pier, boat or raised 
bank. By merely striking with the feet, and keeping his 
head toward the bottom, the diver may drive himself a con- 
siderable distance beneath the surface. If he reach the 
bottom, he has only to turn his head upward, spring from 
the ground with his feet, and he will soon arrive at the sur- 
face. If desirous of making a more rapid ascent, he should 
strike downward with his feet, pulling the water above him 
toward his head with one hand, and striking it downward 
by his side with the other. In diving, the eyes should be 
open ; you must, therefore, take care that you do not close 
them as they reach the surface, when you commence your 
descent. It is almost needless to add, that the breath 
should be held, the whole time that you are under water. 



SWIMMING UOTDEK WATER. 

Swimming between top and bottom may be accomplished 
by the ordinary stroke, if you take care to keep your head a 
little downward, and strike a little higher with your feet 
than when swimming on the surface ; or, you may turn your 
thumbs downward, and perform the stroke with the hands 
in that position, instead of keeping them flat. 

TO BEAT THE WATER, ETC. 

When swimming on your back, lift your legs out of the 
water one after another, and strike the water with them al- 
ternately. Those who are most expert at this bring their 
chins toward their breasts at each stroke of the legs. 



80 boys' OWN" BOOK. 

There is a variety of similar feats performed by expert 
swimmers, such, as treading water with both hands raised 
over the head ; floating on the back with the arms above the 
surface; taking the left leg in the right hand out of the 
water, when swimming on the back ; pulling the right heel 
by the right hand, toward the back, when swimming in the 
common way ; throwing somersets in the water, backward 
and forward, etc., etc., for which no particular directions 
are necessary, as the pupU, when he has grown expert in the 
various modes of swimming which we have described, will 
be able to do these things, and any tricks which his fancy 
may suggest, without diiflculty. 

CONCLUDING REMARKS. 

If one of your companions be in danger of drowning, be 
sure that, in endeavoring to save him, you make your ap- 
proaches in such a manner, as will prevent him from grap- 
pling with you ; if he once get a hold of your limbs, you both 
will almost inevitably be lost. 

Although it has been said that the weight of one's clothes 
will make but little difference in the water, yet we strongly 
advise the young swimmer, when he has become expert in 
the art, and confident of his own prowess, to swim occasion- 
ally with his clothes on ; for this purpose, of course he need 
only use an old worn-out suit : by so doing, he will be satis- 
fied that dress does not make so much difference as he might 
imagine,*and thus he will have more courage and presence 
of mind if he should at any time aftei-ward faU into the 
water, or leap in to save another. 

" This is tlie purest exercise of health, 
The kind refresher of the summer heats." 

— THOaiSON. 



boys' own book. 



81 




SKATING. 



" O'er the ice as o'er pleasure, you lightly should glide, 
Both have gulfs, which their flattering surfaces hide." 

Skating is by no means a modern pastime, and probably 
the invention proceeded rather from necessity than the desire 
for amusement. It was the boast of a northern chieftain, 
that he could traverse the snow upon skates of wood. Some 
traces of skating are found in the thirteenth century, at 
which period it was customary in the winter, when the ice 
would bear them, for the young citizens of London to fasten 
the leg bones of animals under the soles of their feet, by ty- 
ing them to their ankles, and then taking a pole shod with 
iron into their hands, they pushed themselves forward by 
striking it against the ice, and moved with celerity, equal, 
4* 



83 



boys' OWN" BOOK. 



says an old author, " to a bird flying through the air, or an 
arrow from a cross-bow ; " but some allowance, we presume, 
must be made for the poetical figure. 



Fix. 1. 



FiL'. 2. 



Fig. 3. 




HOW TO START OFF. AND TO STOP. 

When your skates are fixed, rise up, stand on your heels, 
and stamp them on the ice to fix the foot firmly ; then strike 
out, at first slowly, with the right foot, leaning on the inside 
edge of the skate, and bending slightly forward. When you 
have slid about two yards on that foot, put the other on the 
ice, and gently throw your weight upon it, striking out in 
the same manner upon the inside edge, and so on with each 
foot alternately. Pig. 1 represents the attitude of a learner 
at first starting off. When you wish to stop, raise the toes 
from the ice, and rest on your heels as in Fig. 2. Bend the 
body forward gradually, and do not attempt to lean back- 
ward, the certain consequence of which would be a severe 
fall. A stick is used by some beginners to steady them- 
selves, but we do not advise it. It is better, at first, to have 
the support of a companion who can skate (Pig. 3), and by 
degrees he may leaye you to your own exertions ; above all 
things, do not be dislieartened by a few falls. 



boys' OWN" BOOK. 83 

THE SKATE. 

Skates are made fluted or plain. For young beginners 
the former are preferable, as regards safety ; but with the 
latter only can velocity and elegance of movement be 
acquired. A quarter of an inch in thiclfness, and about 
three-quarters of an inch in height, are proportionate dimen- 
sions for the blades of skates. High bladed skates are dan- 
gerous for beginners, and require considerable exertion of 
the muscles to keep the ankle stiff, while the nearer the feet 
are brought to the ice, without risking their contact, the less 
will be that strain, and the greater the facility of moving in 
all directions. The blades should be slightly cur\^ed at the 
bottom, as this form assists the skater in turning either heel 
or toe outwards or inwards with rapidity. Previously to go- 
ing on the icfe, the learner should practise, both walking 
about with his skates on, and balancing himself on either foot. 
The club skate, in which there is no wood, is preferred by 
some to all others. 

HOW TO PERFORM THE VARIOUS EVOLUTIONS. 

Before the skater attempts to cut figures and other devices, 
he must be able to skate on the outside edge of the skate, to 
skate backwards, and to turn round. The " outside edge " 
implies what it is by its name ; when acquired, it sends you 
exactly in opposite directions, on both sides, to what the " in- 
side edge " does. In explanation : — Suppose that you are skat- 
ing on the right foot, it is easy to turn to the left, but not so 
to the right, to effect which you must use the outside edge, 
by striking out upon it either foot, inclining at the same 
time the skate, the leg, the body, and the head, toward which- 
ever side you are skating, holding the other foot raised up 
behind, and rounding the arms. 

The right hand should be raised towards the head in skat- 
ing on the left outside edge, and the left hand when skating 
on the right outside edge. The most difficult forward move- 
ment is' the cross outside edge which is done by passing one 



84 boys' owh book. 

leg across the other, and striking out with the foot as it comes 
down on the ice. As the foot on which you first rested dis- 
engages itself (which it will do as you proceed) from the 
crossed-leg position, throw that leg over the other, and, by 
continuing this, you will soon learn to sweep round on either 
side with ease. This is called the Mercury Figure. 

The salute in a right line is not easy of execution. Hav- 
ing first struck out, you must place the feet in a horizontal 
line, elevating and rounding the arms. Continue the move- 
ment as long as you can, or think fit to do so. This attitude, 
though difficult, is frequently practised by good skaters. 

The salute in a curved line is much easier. Having start- 
ed, you put your feet in the position you would adopt to 
describe the salute in a right line, only less horizontally. 
The head and body must be upright, the arms rounded, ""the 
hands placed on the haunches ; in this position you describe 
a circle. You then draw yourself up, the knees having be- 
come slightly bent, and, raising the right or left foot, pre- 
pare for another evolution ; as either striking out straight 
forward, or toward one side. 

To describe circles and curves will be found the most 
graceful and useful of evolutions. To describe a curve on 
the outside edge forwards, fix on some point as a centre, and 
take a ran proportioned to the number of curves you propose 
describing. Strike out on the outward edge, turning in a 
curve round the centre fl:xed upon. Your eyes must look 
towards the shoulder opposite that which directs the general 
movement of the side on which you turn ; your arms must 
be extended ; the one directing the movement should be 
raised above the head, and the other held downwards, in the 
direction of the leg describing the curve. The hips must be 
kept in, and the leg on which you are propelled bent slight- 
ly at the knee-joint. The opposite leg must also be bent, 
and thrown backwards, to modify by its weight and position 
the impulse forward, and to insure your equilibrium. 

To describe a curve or circle on the inside edge forwards, 
you must select a small piece of cork, or any other light 



boys' OW]Sr BOOK. 



85 




body, as a centre, take a sufficient run, and strike out on the 
inward edge. Your head and body must be in the position 
described for outward curves, only the leg on which you 
skate must not be bent. The opposite leg should be almost 
stiff, and the foot about 18 inches from the one you rest 
upon. Cui'ves on the inside edge are terminated by stopping 
in the usual manner ; but if you desire to pirouette or turn 
round, you throw the foot on "which you do not skate over 
that on which you do, and from the impulse given to your 
body in order to describe the curve, you spin round on the 
middle of the skate as on a pivot. After having done this 
a few times, you bring down the foot you are not revolving 
on, and proceed to other evolutions. 

To skate backwards, you must incline the head and body 
slightly forward, in order not to lose the centre of gravity. 
Strike out behind on each foot alternately, and raise the heel 
of the skate slightly up from the ice. By this operation 
each foot will describe an arc or segment of a circle. Should 
you feel to be losing your ecfailibrium, bring both skates to- 
gether on the ice. 



8G boys' OWN" BOOK. 

This evolution is performed sometimes on one foot, some- 
times on the other, and occasionally on both together, by 
the help of a slight motion of the hips. 

Retrograde or backward curves differ from ordinary curves 
by their direction only : and at first sight appear difficult, 
because a person cannot move backwards with the same fa- 
cility that he can go forward. When, however, you are used 
to this manner of skating, it will appear natural and toler- 
ably easy of execution. The backward curve is of equal 
importance with the ordinary curve on the outside edge, and 
constitutes the base of all retrograde or backward figures. 
In this evolution the position of the arms and head is not 
the same as for the ordinary curve on the outside edge. 
When executing the outward retrograde curve, your face 
must be turned towards the left shoulder, and the right hand 
raised towards the head. The reverse takes place for the 
movement to the left, and the inverse generally when the 
motion is forward instead of baeliward. 

The oblique stop is the most proper to adopt when you are 
skating backwards. In order to perform it, when engaged in 
a retrograde movement, you bring down on the ice in an 
oblique and transverse position the skate on which you are 
not resting, stiffening at the same time the leg you thus 
bring down. The effect of this manoeuvre is prompt and 
certain, and the only variation it admits of is, that it can be 
performed on either foot. To turn round, bring either heel 
behind the other, and you turn as a matter of course. 

By carefully attending to the above directions, with 
practice, you wiU be able to cut the numerical figures, or 
any device that you may wish. The figure 8 is the best 
practice, and is described by completing the circle on the 
outside edge forward. See cut on previous page. This is 
performed by crossing the legs, and striking from the out- 
side instead of the inside edge. To cross the legs, the skater, 
as he draws to the close of the stroke on his right leg, must 
throw the left quite across it, which will cause him to press 
hard on the outside of the right skate, from which he must 



boys' owk book. 87 

immediately strike, throwing back the left arm, and looking 
simultaneously over the left shoulder, so as to bring him well 
upon the outside edge of the left skate. The 8 is formed 
by completing a perfect circle, in the manner described, on 
each leg, before changing the foot. The figure 3, which 
is performed on the inside edge backwards, may next be 
practised. 

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 

The young skater should avoid both very rough and very 
smooth ice. He must be fearless, but not too violent in his 
motions, and should never be in a hurry. He must avoid 
looking downwards to see how his feet act, and should re- 
cover his balance between each stroke. For safety his body 
may be bent slightly forward during his first essays, but 
when he has acquired sufficient confidence, he should bear 
himself erect, carry his head well up, and always turn his 
face in the direction of the line he proposes describing. 

He should wear flannel next his chest to absorb the per- 
spiration caused by the exercise, and avoid skating against 
the wind, if of a delicate constitution. When unexpected 
danger arises, he should strive to be perfectly collected. If 
surrounded by rotten ice he must crawl on his hands and 
knees, that the support of his weight may be distributed. If 
he fall upon rotten ice at full length, he must roll away from 
it toward firmer ice ; and should he be so unlucky as to get 
into a hole, he must extend both arms outward in opposite 
directions upon the surface of the ice, and tread water until 
assistance come. A plank or ladder offers the best means of 
extrication, either being easily pushed along the ice ; or a 
rope may be thrown to a, person immersed ; but we hope our 
young readers, by prudence and caution, will avoid the ne- 
cessity of their application. 



88 boys' OWN" BOOK. 



HIDE AND SEEK. 



This is very like the preceding game; a handkerchief, or 
some other trifle, is concealed by one player, and the rest 
attempt to find it ; the discoverer takes the next turn to hide 
the article. It is a custom, in this game, for the boy who 
has hid the article to encourage those who approach it, by 
telling them that they burn, and to warn them of their de- 
parture from it by saying they freeze. 

DUCK ON A ROCK. 

Duck should be played by a number exceeding three, but 
not more than six or eight. A large stone with a sniooth 
top is placed on or fixed into the ground, and an offing 
marked at eight or ten yards distance. Each of the players 
being previously provided with a large pebble, or stone, 
double the size of a cricket ball, or thereabout, one of them, 
by chance or choice, becomes duck ; that is, he places the 
pebble or stone with which he is going to play, on the large 
stone, and stands a little on one side. The others then cast 
their pebbles or ducks at it, in turn, from the offing, each 
endeavoring to knock it off its place. Each player, as soon 
as he has cast his duck, watches for an opportunity of car- 
rying it back to the offing, so as to cast again. If the player 
who is duck, can touch him after he has taken up his pebble, 
and before he reaches the offing, provided his own pebble 
remain on the large stone, then the player so touched be- 
comes duck. It sometimes happens that three or four of 
the out-players' ducks lie so close together, that the player 
who is duck can stand in a situation to be within reach of 
all of them ; in this case, they cannot, without running the 
risk of being touched, pick up, until one of those who are 
at the offing is lucky enough to strike the duck off the 
large stone ; then before its owner can replace it, which 
he must do before he can touch a player, they all take up 
their ducks and run to the offing, where, of course, they are 
safe. 



boys' own book. 



89 




SWINGING. 

The construction of the swing is simple : two ropes of 
equal lengths are to be suspended from any branch or cross- 
piece of timber, of adequate strength; at the bottom of 
these ropes a seat is to be securely fastened, and the party 
who takes the seat must be propelled by another on the 
groimd: a rope for this purpose must be fastened to the 
back part of the seat. 



TUG OF WAR. 

This game is played by two parties, whose numbers are 
equal ; they all take hold of a rope, and the object of each 
party is to pull those belonging to the other across a chalk 



90 boys' owjst book. 

line on the ground, by means of a rope. When all the 
players on one side are thus pulled over or made prisoners, 
the other -party wins the game. This is a very lively sport, 
any number may join in it, and it affords capital exercise 
and much amusement. 

TIP-CAT. 

Tip-cat, or, perhaps, more properly, the game of cat, is a 
weU known, pastime. Its denomination is derived from a 
piece of wood, called a cat, with which it is played ; the cat 
is about six inches iu length, and an inch and a half or two 
inches in diameter, and diminished from the middle to both 
the ends, in the shape of a double cone ; when the eat is 
laid upon the ground, the player, with his stick, strikes it 
smartly, it matters not at which end, and it will rise with a 
rotary motion, high enough for him to beat it away as it 
falls, in the same manner as he would a ball. 

There are various methods of playing the game of eat, but 
we shall only notice the two that follow. The first is ex- 
ceedingly simple, and consists in making a large ring upon the 
ground, in the middle of which the striker takes his station; 
Ms business is to beat the eat over the ring. If he fails in 
so doing he is out, and another player takes his place : if he 
be successful, he judges with his eye the distance the cat is 
driven from the centre of the ring, and calls for a number, 
at pleasure, to be scored toward his game ; if the number 
demanded be found, upon measurement, to exceed the same 
number of lengths of the stick, he is out ; on the contrary, 
if he do not, he obtains his call. The second method is to 
make four, six, or eight holes in the ground, in a circular 
direction, and as nearly as possible at equal distances from 
each other, and at every hole is placed a player with his 
stick ; one of the opposite party, who stand in the field, 
tosses the cat to the batsman who is nearest him, and every 
time the cat is strack, the players are obliged to change 
their situations, and run once from one hole to another in 
succession ; if the cat be driven to any great distance, they 




boys' OWIf BOOK. 91 

continue to run in the same order, and claim a score toward 
their game, every time they quit one hole and run to another ; 
but if the cat be stopped by their opponents, and thrown 
across between any two of the holes before the player who 
has quitted one of them can reach the other, he is out. 

HOP-SCOTCH. 
It is played with an oyster-shell, in the following manner: 
— Draw, with chalk, on the ground, a 
figure similar to the cut in the margin. 
Toss up for innings. He who wins 
stands at the * and throws the shell into 
No. 1, which is called the first bed; he 
then steps with his right foot into that 
bed, and "scufB.es," that is, jerks, with 
his right foot, the sheU out toward the *. 
He now throws the shell into No. 2, steps 
with his left foot into No. 1, and then, * 

placing his right foot in No. 2, scuffles the shell out as be- 
fore, and steps with one foot back to No. 1, and thence out. 
He must now throw the shell into No. 3, and step into 1, 2, 
and 3, scuffle the shell out, and step back through the beds 
alternately. He must then go to 4, 5, and 6, in succession, 
and at each throw, step into every previous bed with one 
foot only, and the like when coming back, reversing the 
numbers. After this, the player puts the shell into No. 1, 
hops into that bed, scuffles the shell into 2, and so on to 6, 
and back again in the same manner, bed by bed, to the *. 
Lastly, he places the shell into No. 1, puts his right foot in 
the bed, and scuffles the shell through all the beds, beyond 
the further line of 6, at one jerk. If the player who gets the 
innings do all this correctly, he wins thcvgame. If, how- 
ever, he put himself out, as hereafter described, the second 
player takes the innings ; if the latter put himself out, with- 
out going through the game, the first takes up his own 
game, where it was when he went out; the second also does 
the like with his, if the first gets out a second time. When 



92 BOYS' OWK BOOK. 

there are more than one innings, the first who goes tliroiigh 
the game, as above stated, wins. A player loses his innings 
in either of the following eases: — If he throw the sliell into 
the wrong bed, or on the line, or put two feet into one bed, 
or a foot npon the lines, or does not scnffle the shell out 
of the bed in Avhieh it lies at the first attempt, or put his 
hands to the ground, or throws or scuffles the shell beyond 
line c, (except in the last, or what is called "the long 
scuffle,") or- outside the lines ah; or if, in going forward, he 
put his leg into 3 before 3, or the contrary when coming 
back ; or if, when scuffling the shell through on the hop, he 
drive it beyond the next bed in which it lies ; or if, in any 
part of the game, when he has stepped into a bed, he take 
more than one hop in order to get near the shell ; or if he 
hop after he has scuffled it ; or, last, if, in the long scuffle, 
he do not, at one effort, send it with his foot from beyond 
the line of c. But observe, that when he has cast the shell 
into No. 3, or any bed beyond it, he is not compelled to 
scuffle it out, that is, beyond the line d, at one effort. 

THREAD THE NEEDLE. 

Thread the needle may be played by a considerable num- 
ber of boys, who all join hands, and the game commences 
with the following dialogue between the two outside players 
at each end of the line: "How many miles to Babylon?" 
" Threescore and ten." " Can I get there by candlelight ? " 
"Yes, and back again." "Then open the gates without 
more ado, and let the king and his men pass through." In 
obedience to this mandate, the player who stands at the 
opposite end of the line and the one next him, lift their 
joined hands as high as possible ; the other outside player 
then approaches, runs under the hands thus elevated, and 
the whole line follows him, if possible, without disuniting. 
This is threading the needle. The same dialogue is re- 
peated, the respondent now becoming the inquirer, and run- 
ning between the two players at the other end, with the 
whole line after him. The first then has his turn again. 



boys' own book. 



93 




SEE-SAW. 

A plank is placed across a felled tree, or low wall, or any- 
thing similar, and a player seats himself at each end ; by a 
slight exertion, if the plank be properly balanced, each end 
rises and sinks alternately. It must be observed that, if the 
players be of unequal weight, he who is the heavier must, 
to preserve the due equilibrium, make his end of the plank 
shorter. 

WHOOP. 

This game is played as follows : — AU the players but one, 
collect at a place called " home," while one goes off to hide 
himself. When ready, he shouts '* Whoop oh! " — the others 
then sally out to find him; he who discovers the hidden 
player, calls out "Whoop oh!" The hidden player then 
breaks from his concealment, and if he can catch one of the 
others, the one so caught must carry him on his back to 
"home." It is then the boy's turn who has made the dis- 
covery to go and hide himself, and the others endeavor to 
discover his lurking place, as before. 



94 



boys' OWJSr BOOK. 




GAMES IN THE SNOW. 
COASTING, 

Where is tlie boy who has not enjoyed a good sport coast- 
ing or sleigh-riding as above. Ton have only to get a good 
sleigh and a hUl covered with snow, and start from the top, 
when away you go rushing along — faster, and still faster, 
tiU you almost lose your breath, before you reach the bottom ; 
then jump up and pull your sleigh to the top and repeat your 
journey till you are tired. If you want to be weatherwise 
during a snow storm, look to the west ; if the sky is red and 
the wind is in the north, you are safe for a coasting trip 
next day. 

THE SNOW GIANT. 

This is made by rolling a snow ball untU it gets too large 
to be moved, you then cut away the sides and place a smaller 
one on the top for a head, carve out his nose and legs and 
place two pieces of coal or stones for his eyes. You can 
then make a number of snow balls and pelt him from a dis- 
tance, trying to break his nose and fill up his eyes. 



boys' own book. 95 

HUNT THE SLIPPER. 

This is usually an in-door game, although there is no 
other objection to its being played on a dry piece of turf 
than that the slipper cannot be heard when struck by its 
momentary possessor, when passing round the joyous ring. 
Several young persons sit on the ground in a circle, a slip- 
per is given to them, and one, who generally volunteers to 
accept the office in order to begin the game, stands in the- 
center, and whose business it is to " chase the slipper by its 
sound." The parties who are seated, pass it round so as to 
prevent, if possible, its beiag found in the possession of any 
individual. In order that the player 'in the center may 
know where the slipper is, it is occasionally tapped on the 
ground, and then suddenly handed on to the right or left. 
When the slipper is found in the possession of any one in 
the circle, by the player who is hunting it, the party on 
whom it is so f OTind, takes the latter player's place. 

HOP, STEP, AND JUMP. 

This is a sport of emulation ; the object is to ascertain 
which of the players concerned can eventually go over the 
greatest portion of ground in a hop, a step, and a jump, per- 
f onned in succession, and which may be taken either stand- 
ing or with a run, as may be agreed, at the outset, between 
the players. 

DRAWING THE OYEN. 

Several players seat themselves on the ground, in a line, 
and in such a manner that each may be clasped round the 
body by the player who is seated behind him. When all are 
thus united, two others take the one who is at the extremity 
of the line by the two hands and pull until they separate 
him from the grasp of the one who is behind him. They 
then take the second in the same manner, and so on untO. 
they have thus drawn the whole line. 



96 boys' own book. 

THE LAME LAMPLIGHTERS. 

Two boys kneel, each on one knee only, holding the other 
leg off the ground, one opposite the other, a lighted candle is 
given to one, and another candle, not lighted to the other ; 
they then attempt to illumine the latter ; but being in 
eqmlibrimn on one knee, and liable to be thrown off their 
balance by the least motion, they will find this so difficult a 
mattei* as to cause great diversion to the spectators. 

THE JUMPING ROPE. 

A long rope is swung round by a player at each end of it; 
when it moves tolerably regular, one, two, or even more boys, 
step in between those who hold the rope, suffering it to pass 
over their heads as it rises, and leaping up so that it goes 
under their feet when it touches the ground, precisely as is 
the case of a common skipping-rope. The principal dif- 
ficulty in this sport is, to run between the players at the 
proper moment of time, that is, just as the rope is at its 
highest elevation, so as to be ready to jump over when it 
comes toward the feet. Care must be taken that due time 
be kept m the leaps, so that they may perfectly accord with 
the motion of the rope. 

There is another mode of playing with the long skipping- 
rope, namely, by the player at one end of it, advancing a 
step or two toward the other, keeping the hand which holds 
the rope on the outside, and then, with the assistance of the 
player at the other end, turning the rope round, and skip- 
ping over it in its circuit. 

DROPPING THE 'KERCHIEF. 

A number of players join hands so as to make a circle ; 
one only stands out ; he walks round the outside of the 
circle, and drops a handkerchief behind which player in the 
circle he thinks fit. The party behind whom the handker- 
chief is thus dropped immediately follows the one who drop- 
ped it ; those who stood on each side complete the circle by 



boys' OWiq" BOOK. 97 

joining hands, and the chase commences. The pursuer is 
bound to follow precisely the course of the pursued, who 
winds in and out under the arms of the other players, who 
elevate tliem for his accommodation, and endeavors, by all 
means in his power, to puzzle and elude him. If he succeed 
in so doing, that is, if the pursuer make a blunder in his 
course, he returns to his place in the circle, and the first 
player prepares to drop the handkerchief behind one of the 
players again. When he is fairly overtaken by the player 
behind whom he has last dropped the handkerchief, the lat- 
ter takes his place, and he joins hands in the circle. 

BUCK. 

This is a miniature resemblance of "Saddle my Nag ;" 
but it neither requires speed, nor even agility. It is a sport 
for two boys only, who should be nearly equal in size and 
strength. A third, who does not join in the game, stands 
by as umpire. The game commences by one of the players 
giving a back ; that is, placing his arms across his breast, 
or resting them on his knees, stooping forward so as to bring 
his back nearly horizontal with his head, which he supports 
against a post, wall, tree or whatever may be convenient for 
the purpose. It is usual, but we think quite unnecessary, for 
the player who gives the back to be blindfolded : we say un- 
necessary, because the only object for doing this is to prevent 
him seeing what is going on behind, or, rather, above his back, 
which he cannot possibly do, if he keep his head in a fair 
and proper position ; and the umpire should see that he 
does so. The first player having thus taken his position, 
the second leaps, or vaults, astride on his back, holds up as 
many of the fingers of one hand as he pleases, and says, 
" Buck, buck, how many horns do I hold up ? " The player 
who gives the back makes a guess ; if ho name the riglit 
number the other player becomes Buck, and gives him a 
back. If, however, his guess be an incorrect one, the rider 
gets ofE, vaults on again, holds up the same or a different 
5 



98 



boys' own book. 



number of fingers, and asks the same question as before ; 
this is repeated until the Buck name the true number. It 
is the business of the umpire to see that there is no foul play 
on the part of the rider. We should suggest that it would 
be an improvement on this quiet, simple game, for the 
umpire to be made a third player ; so that when the Buck's 
guess is correct, the rider should give a back, the umpire 
become rider, and the Buck umpire : thus, instead of the 
place of umpire being a mere idle vocation, the game would 
be productive of amusement and exercise to all three of the 
boys engaged in it. 

BLIND-MAN'S BUFF. . 

This popular, old-fashioned, and delightful pastime, is so 
well known, as to render any description of it unnecessary. 
There is, however, a variation of it called Shadow Buff, 
which is less known, but equally amusing. A large piece 
of white linen is suspended smoothly at one end of a room ; 
at a little distance from it, Buify, with his face toward the 
linen, is seated on a low stool. Directly in a line, and about 
a yard behind him, a table is placed with a candle on it ; all 
the other lights must be extinguished. The players then 
walk one by one, between the table and Buffy (who must not 
turn his head), limping, hopping, and grimacing as they 
please, so as to distort their shadows on the linen. If Buffy 
can teU correctly to whom any shadow belongs (guessing 
once only for each person), the player, whom he so discovers, 
takes his place. 




boys' OWISr BOOK. 



99 




ARCHERY. 
THE BOW. 

The young archer should, in the first place, select a bow 
that is fit and proper for his own size and strength. It is 
not probable that, let him be ever so skilful, he will be able 
to achieve such an exploit as the construction of a good bow 
himself, bow-making being a trade which requires many 
years' practice and much attention. 

The back of the bow is the flat outside, and the belly the 
round inside part of it. The round inside part is bent in- 
ward ; if the bow be pulled the reverse way it will break ; 
therefore, however a bow may be bent when unstrung, it is 
invariably to be strung with the round part inward. 

ARROWS. 

Arrows should be delicately proportioned in length and 
weight to the bow for which they are intended. They are 
used blunt or sharp, and varying in their thickness accord- 
ing to the fancy of the archer. Some are made so as 
to taper gradually from the feathers to the pile, and some 



100 boys' own book. 

vice versa; others again are thickest in the centre. All 
arrows should have their nocks or notches cased with horn, 
and the nocks should be of such a size as to fit the string 
with exactness, and be neither too tight nor too loose. Three 
goose or turkey feathers are affixed to arrows ; one of these, 
denominated the cock feather, is of a different color from 
the other two, and this is always to be placed uppermost. 

THE STRING. 

That part of the string which receives the nock of the 
arrow is whipped with sewing silk, to prevent the string 
being rubbed and weakened. If the silk should come off 
the string, it ought to be re-whipped without delay ; other- 
wise it will be in danger of breaking ; and this is not the 
only mischief, for from the breaking of a string oftentimes 
ensues the snapping of the bow. It is also advisable to whip 
the noose and eye of the string, although many archers do 
not trouble themselves to do so. At one end of the bow- 
string an eye is made ; it is left for the archer himself, bows 
being of different lengths, to make the other ; this, to a 
young archer, will be found rather difficult ; his best plan 
will be to inspect the mode of making the noose on an old 
string. The young archer will do well, if any of the threads 
of his string break, to throw it by and use another. He 
should never, if possible, permit the string to become twisted 
or raveled ; should such an occurrence take place, before it 
is put on again it ought to be re-twisted and waxed. A bow, 
five feet long when braced, should never have the string 
more than five inches from its centre. This rule will be a 
guide to the young archer in stringing his bow ; whatever be 
its length he will of course adjust the distance in the same 
proportion, according to the measurement. 

THE TASSEL. 

This is very necessary to the archer for the purpose of 
cleaning the arrow from such dirt as generally adheres to it 



boys' owh book. 101 

if it enter the ground. This dirt, iJ suffered to remain, will 
impede the arrow in its flight, and also render its course un- 
true. The tassel is suspended on the left side of the archer, 
and is thus always at hand for use. 

THE GLOVE. 
The glove consists of places for three fingers, a back thong 
and a wrist-strap to fasten it. The finger-stalls should 
neither project far over the tops nor be drawn back to cover 
the first joint. The glove is used for the purpose of pro- 
tecting the fingers from being hurt by the string. 

THE BRACE. 

The brace is worn on the bow arm to save it from being 
injured by the string, which, without this protection, would, 
in all probability, incapacitate the archer from shooting long 
at a time. It is made of stout leather with a very smooth 
surface, so that the string may glide over it without im- 
pediment. 

THE QUIVER. 

The quiver is for the reception of the arrows, but is never 
constantly worn except in roving ; it is now usually made of 
tin, although it is occasionally constructed, as was indeed 
universally the case formerly, of wood or leather. 

THE BELT, POUCH, AND GREASE-BOX. 

The belt is buckled round the waist ; the grease-box is 
suspended from the middle, and the pouch or bucket on the 
right side of it. A composition for greasing the finger of 
the shooting-glove, and the smooth side of the brace, when 
occasion may require, is kept in the box ; the pouch holds 
the arrows for immediate use in target shooting. 

BUTTS. 
The butt is rather pyramidieal in shape, generally speaking, 
but it may be fashioned according to the fancy of the archer ; 
for grown-up persons, they are seven or eight feet wide. 



102 boys' owk book. 

three or four feet thick at the base, and nearly seven feet in 
height at the middle. Butts are made of long plats of turf 
which are to be closely pressed down ; a round piece of paste- 
board is placed in the centre of the butt for a mark, which 
must be increased or decreased. in size according to the dis- 
tance at which the archer shoots : for thirty yards it should 
be four inches in diameter; for sixty yards, six inches; and 
so in proportion for a greater distance. The mark is fixed to 
the butt by a peg driven through its centre. Shots that take 
place outside the mark are not reckoned, and he who places 
most shots in the pasteboard during the play is accounted 
the winner. Butts are frequently placed at different dis- 
tances from each other ; a set of butts is four, which are so 
contrived as not to prevent the players seeing them all at 
once. What is called a single end is shooting at one mark 
only ; a double end is shooting to a mark, and back again, 
from that mark to the one first shot from. 

TAEGETS. 
Targets should be proportioned to the size and skiU of the 
juvenile archer, and to the distance at which he stands from 
them. The facing is usually made of canvas which is sewn 
on the bass ; the bass is made of straw, worked as a bee-hive. 
The facing has a gold centre and four circles ; namely, the 
outer white edged with green, the black inner, white and 
red. Where it is not convenient to keep the targets fixed, 
it is better to use another kind, made of pasteboard, these 
being more portable, although by no means so durable, as 
targets made of the other materials we have mentioned. If 
one target only be shot at, a great deal of time is wasted in 
going to fetch the arrows, and again returning to the spot 
for shooting from ; two targets are therefore generally 
used, and the archers shoot from one to the other. In 
archery matches there are generally two prizes ; one for the 
greatest number of arrows shot into the target, — ^the other 
for the shot nearest the gold centre. Hits in the target are 
sometimes reckoned all alike; but there is usually a dis- 



boys' own book. 103 

tinction made. The gold centre is the mark, and the circle 
which approaches nearest to it, being less in size, and con- 
sequently more difficult to hit, and nearer the main mark 
itself, an arrow shot in that circle is deemed of more value, 
in reckoning for the prize, than if it were to take place in 
any of those outside it, and so in proportion with the others. 
A celebrated society of archery allows the following 
numbers for each circle. For the gold, nine ; for the red, 
seven ; for the inner white, five ; for the black, three ; and 
for the outer white, one. A writer on this subject, how- 
ever, seems to think that the outer circles are overrated, and 
if nine be allowed for the centre, only three should be scored 
for the red ; two for the inner white ; and less in proportion 
for the two outer circles. When the sport terminates, the 
value of the number of hits, and not the hits themselves, 
should be reckoned; and he whose score is the largest, is, of 
course, the victor. 

As ink is by no means a convenient thing to carry into 
the field, and marks made with the black-lead pencil are 
liable to be rubbed out, it is advisable to have a pin sus- 
pended from a card, properly divided for each archer's score, 
and to prick down the hits with it. 

STRINGING THE BOW. 

The bow is to be taken in the right hand, by the handle, 
with the flat part toward the person who is about to string 
it, his right arm should rest against his side ; the lower end 
of the bow, which has always the shortest bone, should 
be placed against the inside of the right foot, which should 
be turned a little inward to prevent the bow from slipping ; 
the left foot should at the same time be brought forward ; 
the centre of the left-hand wrist must be placed on the 
upper limb of the bow below the eye of the string, the fore- 
finger knuckle upon one edge of the bow, and the top of the 
thumb on the other. The bow is now to be pulled up vigor- 
ously, and the upper limb of it pressed down by the right 
hand, and the wrist of the left which it should at the same 



104 



boys' own book. 



time slide upward until the eye of the bowstring is safely- 
placed in the nock. The middle, the ring, and the little 
fingers should all three be stretched out, as they are not 
wanted in this operation of stringing the bow ; moreover, if 
this be not done, they are liable to be caught between the 
string and the bow, and thus become severely punished. 
The young archer should take care that the eye is well placed 
in the nock before he removes his left hand. He should not 
become impatient in the action of stringing the bow, but 
perform it systematically as directed ; if he do not succeed, 
let him lay it by for a few minutes, and when he is cool 
make a second attempt. To unstring the bow, the short 
horn is to be placed on the ground ; the palm of the left 
hand receiving the flat side of the upper limb ; the string 
should be upward ; the handle is then to be pressed with the 
right arm so as to slacken the string ; when the latter be- 
comes loose enough, the eye is to be brought out of the nock 
by the thumb of the left hand. 



POSITION. 
The face is to be turned toward the mark, but no part of 

the body, which, if the mark be north, should be turned to- 
ward the east ; the head should 
be rather inclined; the left 
hand, with the bow in it in a 
perpendicular position, is to 
be held out straight toward 
the mark ; the arrow is to be 
brought well toward the ear, 
and not the eye, on the left 
side of the bow and under 
the string; the forefinger of 
the left hand passes over it ; 
by the other hand the nock 
is placed in the string at the 
proper place, with the cock 

feather uppermost ; when this is done, the forefinger of the 




boys' owk book. 105 

left hand is removed and placed round the bow. While the 
left hand is raising the bow, the right should be drawing the 
string with two or three fingers only, and not the thumb ; as 
soon as it reaches the head it should be let loose, for fear of 
its breaking. 

Great care should be taken to acquire a proper position, 
as represented in the marginal cut, for bad attitudes in 
archery appear extremely ridiculous. 

coNCLUDma remaeks. 

"We strongly recommend the young archer never to shoot 
with another person's bow ; he may, very probably, break it ;' 
and in that case, a loss might ensue to the owner, which 
money could not remedy. When the grass is above the an- 
kle, shoot only at a considerable elevation. After two or 
three arrows are shot, the archer shoidd cease awhile, oth- 
erwise his aim will get unsteady. If he shoot point-blank 
at a mark, the arrow, if it miss, will strike along, and so 
bury itself in the grass as to defy the keenest eye, in many 
instances, for a very considerable time, to discover it. This 
inconvenience may be remedied by shooting at a proper ele- 
vation, for then the arrow will descend in such a manner as 
to leave the feathers visible; they will also be saved from 
that injury which frequently occurs to them by the moist- 
ure of the grass or ground, when shot point-blank. Ar- 
rows shoidd not be used of different lengths, nor should the 
young archer shoot alone ; for in solitary shooting, he f aUs 
into habits of negligence and indifference ; if he practice 
with others, he will strive to emulate his companions ; and, 
instead of a careless, unskilful marksman, soon become an 
adept in the pleasant pastime of Aechery. 
5* 



106 



BOYS OWN" BOOK. 




GYMNA8TIG EXERCISES. 

The necessary fittings-up of a gymnastic ground are as 
follows : — An horizontal bar, a vaulting-horse, a leaping- 
stand, parallel bars, a climbing-stand, and ladders of rope 
and wood. 

The best time for performing gymnastics is early in the 
morning. Boys should proceed gradually from the more 
easy to 'the more difficult exercises ; and it is most advisable 
to practise these sports under the eye of an experienced per- 
son. Where there is a number of boys, they should be di- 
vided into classes, according to their strength. It is advis- 
able to carry no toys in the pockets when practising ; extra 
clothes should be put on when the exercises are finished; 
and the usual precautions adopted to prevent taking cold. 

The following observations, which are principally- from 
Salzmann, may be perused with advantage. No person in 
health is injured by being overheated; but drinking when 
extremely hot, or being cooled too quickly, in whatever man- 
ner it happens, may prove highly pernicious. It is proper, 



boys' own book. 107 

therefore, to take off whatever clothing can be decently- 
spared, before beginning to exercise, and put it on again 
immediately after. Lying down upon the cold ground, too, 
must not be allowed. On commencing any exercise, begin, 
not with its more violent degrees, but with the more gentle, 
and leave off in the same manner ; sudden transitions are al- 
ways dangerous. Never let bodily exertion, or your attempts 
to harden the frame, be carried to excess : let your object be 
to strengthen the feeble body, not to exhaust and render it 
languid. In all exercises, attention should be paid to such 
a position of aU the parts of the body, that none may be ex- 
posed to injury ; for example, the tongue must never be suf- 
fered to remain between the teeth. The left hand and arm 
are commonly weaker than the right ; let them be frequent- 
ly exercised, therefore, by lifting, carrying, and supporting 
the weight of the body by suspension, tiU they become as 
strong as the others. 

Although walking, running, dancing, balancing, vault- 
ing, climbing, jumping, wrestling, riding, swimming, and 
all other museidar exercises, may be included in the term 
Gymnastics, the common course adopted at the schools in- 
cludes only walking, running, jumping, vaulting, balanc- 
ing, and climbing. 

RUNNINa. 

In running, the legs should not be raised too high; th-^ 
arms should be nearly still, so that no unnecessary opposi- 
tion be given to the air by useless motions. Running in a 
circle is excellent exercise, but the direction should be occa- 
sionally changed, so that both sides may be equally worked. 

THE DEEP LEAP. 
This is performed from a flight of steps, increasing the 
depth according to the progress of the pupil. The body 
should be bent forward, the feet close together, and the 
hands ready to touch the ground at the same time with or 
rather before the feet. We do not, however, much approve 
of this exercise. 



108 boys' owk book. 

WALKING. 
In ■walking, the arms should move freely by the side, the 
head be kept up, the stomach in, the shoulders back, the 
feet parallel with the ground, and the body resting neither 
on the toe nor heel, but on the baU of the foot. On start- 
ing, the pupil should rise one foot, keep the knee and instep 
straight, the toe bent downward. When this foot reaches 
the ground, the same should be repeated with the other. 
This should be practised until the pupil walks firmly and 
gracefully. 

JUMPING. 

The first rule in jumping is, to fall on the toes and never 
on the heels. Bend the knees, that the calves of the legs 
may touch the thighs. Swing the arms forward when tak- 
ing a spring, break the fall with the hands, if necessary; 
hold the breath, keep the body forward, come to the ground 
with both feet together, and in taking the run, let your steps 
be short, and increase in quickness as you approach the leap. 
Begin with a moderate height or breadth, and increase both 
as you improve. 

PARALLEL BARS. 

Begin by raising the body by the hands, and then moving 
the hands alternately backward and forward, until you go 
along the bars each way by means only of your hands. Then 
move or jump with both hands at once. The swing is per- 
formed by supporting the body by the arms, with the stom- 
ach upward, until the toes are in a straight line with the 
head; when the pupil can do this with ease, he should throw 
his body from this position over the bar to the right or left. 
The movement of lowering the body by bending the elbows 
is done by drawing up the feet towards the hams, and sink- 
ing gradually until the elbows are even with the head ; rise 
again by straightening the arms, and repeat the exercise sev- 
eral times. Many other exercises may be performed on 
these bars, which will occur to the pupU in the course of 
his practice. 




boys' owit book. 109 

HORIZONTAL BAR. 
The first position is taking hold of the bar with both 
hands, and raising the body until the chin is on a line with 
the knuckles. When you can look over the bar in this man- 
ner with ease, place the 
hands on the further side 
of the bar from you, and 
raise the body as before. 
In the next exercise, the ' 
body is raised from the 
ground by both hands on 
each side of the bar, and 
the pupil passes, springs, 

or moves the hands alternately along the bar. Keep the 
legs close, lift the feet so as to touch the bar and sink 
them down again ; repeat this several times, and when in 
this position, pass along the bar by alternately moving 
the hands ; the body may then be supported by the right 
arm and left leg, and afterward by the left arm and right 
leg ; you may then place yourself in a riding position on the 
bar. You may also swing with the head downward ; take the 
bar with both hands, and pass the feet between them, until 
they hang downward ; you may either return them the same 
way, or drop upon your toes to the ground. 

THE LONa LEAP. 
Make a trench, which widens gradually from one end to 
the other, so that the breadth of the leap may be increased 
daily. Keep the feet close together, and take your spring 
from the toes of one foot, which should be quickly drawn up 
to the other, and they should descend at the same instant ; 
throw the arms and body forward, especially in descending. 
Take a run of aboiit twenty paces. 

PROSTRATE AND PERPENDICULAR. 

Hold your arms on your breast, lie on your back and get 
up again, without maktaguse of either your elbows or hands. 



110 boys' 0W2S" BOOKi 

THE HIGH LEAP WITH THE POLE. 
Take the pole with the right hand about the height of the 
head, and with the left about the height of the hips ; when 
put to the ground, spring with the right foot, and pass by 
the left of the pole, over whatever you have to clear, turning 
round as you alight, so as to front the place you leap from. 

VAULTING. 

The horse for vaulting is made of a wooden cylinder with 
rounded ends; two ridges are placed across it, the space 
between which is called the saddle, and shoiild be wide 
enough apart for a person to sit between them with ease. 
The horse may be wadded or not, according to fancy. Leap- 
ing on the horse is performed by springing by the hands 
astride upon it. The body is raised in the same manner, 
until the feet reach high enough to stand on the horse ; the 
hands are then to be placed on the further ridge, and the 
body thrown forward into the saddle. 

Vaulting into the saddle may be performed with or with- 
out a run; place the hands on one of the ridges, take a 
spring, and turn the body on one side, so that one leg may 
pass over the horse, and the performer descend astride into 
the saddle. To vault sideways over the horse, the hands 
must be placed as above, and a spring made suificient to 
throw the feet over the horse ; one hand then leaves its hold, 
and you descend on the other side. To vault on or over the 
saddle forward, take hold of each ridge with the hands, and 
spring between them, so as to rest or to go over the saddle. 

TO CLIMB THE ROPE. 

In climbing the rope the hands are to be moved alternate- 
ly, one above the other, the feet drawn up between every 
movement of the hands, and the rope grasped firmly between 
them ; in descending, move one hand after the other, as the 
friction, if you slide, would blister them. The best method 
to climb the slant rope is to lay the sole of one foot flat on 
the rope, and the other leg over the instep of that foot. 



boys' owk book. 



Ill 




THE HIGH LEAP. 
Get a stand made of two upright posts, bored through with 
holes, through which you may pass a string at what length 
you please, with sand bags of sufficient 
weight to keep it straight, and yet not 
so heavy as to prevent your carrying it 
away with your foot, in case you touch 
it while leaping ; or you may have 
holes bored to admit movable pegs to 
support the string, as in the cut. You 
must take this leap both standing and 
with a run ; for the former, the legs 
should be kept together, and the feet 
and knees raised in a straight direction ; 
for the latter, we recommend a short 
run, and a light tripping step, gradually quickened as the 
leaper approaches the string. You should be particular- 
ly careful not to alight on your heels, but rather on the toes 
and balls of the feet. 

THE DEEP LEAP WITH THE POLE. 
This requires strength in the arms and hands. Place the 
pole the depth you have to leap, lower the body forward, 
cast off your feet and swing round the pole so as to alight 
with your face fronting the point you leaped from. Come 
to the ground, if possible, on the balls of your feet. 

THE TRIUMPH. 
Place the palms of the hands together, behind you, with 
the fingers downward, and the thumbs nearest the back; 
then, still keeping as much as possible of the palms together, 
and at least the fingers of one hand touching those of the 
other, turn the hands, by keeping the tops of the fingers 
close to the back, until the ends are between the shoulders, 
with the palms together, the thumbs outward, and the tops 
of the fingers toward the head. This is a very difficult feat, 
and well deserves its title. 



112 boys' owit book. 

ASCEKDING THE LADDER. 

Take hold of each side of the ladder, and ascend by mov- 
ing the hands alternately. To climb the ladder by rundels, 
the learner must bring the elbow of the arm which happens 
to be the lowest, down to the ribs, before he pulls himseK 
up by the other. To climb the ladder by one side, take 
hold of one side of the ladder with both hands, the palms 
toward the.outer part of the side; move the hands alternate- 
ly, and keep the legs close and steady. 

TO CLIMB THE PERPENDICULAR OR SLANT 
POLE. 

Move the legs and hands alternately, taking care, how- 
ever, not to place the hands over each other, as in climbing 
the rope. In descending the pole, the hands are held ready 
to be used, if necessary, on each side of it ; the legs being 
then a Little slackened, you will descend with great ease. 

STEPPING THROUGH YOUR OWN FINGERS. 

Get a bit of wood, or half of a tobacco-pipe, hold it 
between the two forefingers of each hand, and, without let- 
ting it go, after a little practice, you may leap over it, for- 
ward and backward without difficulty ; when perfect in this, 
you may, as the writer of this has frequently done, place 
the tops of the two middle fingers together, and leap over 
them both ways, without either separating or touching them 
with the feet. It is impossible to perform this trick with 
high-heeled shoes ; and, in fact, the great difflciilty consists 
in clearing the heels. 

THE FLYING BOOK. 

Place a book, or other convenient thing, between the two 
feet, in such a way that it is held between the ankles and 
the inner side of the feet ; then kick up backwards with 
both feet and throw the book over your head. 




boys' OWN" BOOK. 113 

^ THE PLANK. 

The breadth of the plank should be about two feet; its 
thickness, two inches ; to climb it, the hands are to be placed 
on each side, and the feet on its surface ; ascend by moving 
them alternately. Elevate the plank 
by degrees as you improve in the ex- 
ercise. The progress that may be 
made in the ascension of the plank 
is astonishing. We know several 
gymnasts who can ascend a plank 
in a perpendicular position, without 
difficulty. To do this, the body and 
feet are in a different position to that 
represented in the marginal cut, 
where the figure is merely travelling 
up an incUned plane; to ascend a perpendicular plank 
the body is curved inward more from the shoulders down- 
ward, and the legs thrust up so that the higher one is 
nearly even with the hand. 

DOT AND CARET TWO. 

The person who is to perform this exploit (whom we shall 
designate as No. 1), stands between two others (whom we 
shall call Nos. 2 and 3) ; he then stoops down and passes his 
right hand behind the left thigh of No. 2. whose hand he 
grasps ; and his left hand behind the right thigh of No. 3, 
whose left hand he grasps. Nos. 2 and 3 then pass each 
one arm round the neck and shoulders of No. 1, and when 
in this position. No. 1, by raising himself gradually from 
his stooping position, lifts the others from the ground. 

KNUCKLE DOWN. 
An exercise of some difficulty, is performed by putting 
the toes against a chalk line, kneeling down and rising up 
again, without any assistance of the hands or moving the 
toes from the chalk line. 



114 



boys' own book. 




LIFTING AT AEM'S LENGTH. 
Elevating a pole at arm's length has long been aceoimted 
a superior feat ; to do this, the arm must be stretched out 
at fuU length, the pole ( the poker will do to begin with) 
grasped with the nails upward, and elevated in a right line 
with the arm. 

CHAIRING THE LEG. 

Place the left foot on the lower back rail of a chair, then 
pass your right leg over the back of the chair, and bring it 
to the floor between the chair and your left leg. This is to 
be done without touching the chair with your hand. 

In doing this trick, the chair should not stand upon a 
slippery floor, as it may move from under you, and cause a 
fall ; a heavy chair should also be selected, and great care 
taken while performing it. 

THE FINGER-PEAT. 
Your arms must be horizontally placed across the breast, 
and close to it; the fore-fingers of each hand must then be 
brought into contact. In this position another person must 
endeavor to separate your fingers by pulling at each arm. 
However much stronger he may be than you, he will not be 
able to detach your fingers, if you hold them properly. It 
must be agreed, previously, that the person who attempts to 
separate the fingers of the other shall not use a sudden jerk, 
but a regular force. 



BOYS OWH BOOK. 



115 




FLYING STEPS. 

This is a very beneficial exercise. Fix a beam firmly in 
the ground, with a strong iron cap, that moves in a circular 
horizontal position, at the top of it ; four ropes are to be fixed 
to the cap, and bars of wood fastened at the bottom of the 
ropes, which are to be taken hold of, and the pupils vault 
round, bearing the weight on the rope, and continually in- 
creasing in speed until they touch the ground only at inter- 
vals with their toes. 



THE LONG REACH. 

A line is to be marked on the floor, to which both feet, or 
rather, the toes of both your feet are to be brought, and be- 
yond which they must not pass. One hand, either right or 
left, at option, is then to be thrown forward (without touch- 
ing the floor in its passage) so far and no farther than you 
can spring back again from the horizontal position to the 
original upright position of the body, without disturbing the 
stated posture of the feet, or scraping the floor with the 
hand in the back-spring. The distance at which different 
persons can thus spring back from the hand, will, of course, 
differ according to their length of arm, or their strength and 
activity. 



116 boys' own- book. 

When you have ascertained the distance at which you can 
recover without scraping the hand or changing the original 
position of your feet, you must stretch forward as far as 
possible ; and whilst your body is supported by the hand on 
the floor, chalk as far as possible with the other; after this, 
rise up from your hand and recover your original position, 
without touching the ground again with either hand. There 
is great scope for skill and activity in this feat, and there 
are persons not exceeding five feet, or five feet and a few 
inches, who will chalk considerably farther than others six 
feet high. The great art is, to bring your body as near to 
the floor as possible ; for which purpose, it is recommended 
(and allowable) to move the feet backward from the line of 
demarkation as far as you can, which will bring the body 
much lower, and enable you to chalk, at least, the full length 
of yourself, which is considered pretty good chalking, al- 
though there are persons who will exceed the distance very 
considerably. Those who perform this trick the best, con- 
trive, when on the stretch, that the body may rest upon the 
elbow. 

TWO TO ONE. 

With the skipping-rope several excellent exercises may be 
performed ; the best, perhaps, is the following. Skip in the 
common way for a few seconds, constantly increasing your 
velocity of movement, and, at length, leap tolerably high, 
and whirl the rope round so fast that it may pass twice 
under your feet before they touch the ground ; continue this 
until you can repeat it several times in succession, and, at 
last, pass the rope three iimes, instead of twice, under your 
feet during the leap. 

TUMBLE-DOWN DICK. 

This feat must be performed with a long-backed chair; 
place the knees on the extremity of the feet of the chair, 
and, with your two hands, take hold about the seat rail; 
bring your face down to touch the back of the chair, upon 



boys' own book. 117 

which, at the extremity, or as near as you can come without 
falling forward, or suffering the top of the chair to touch 
the floor, a piece of money, or &c., is placed, which is to be 
removed with the mouth. Much of the management in this 
trick depends upon properly regulating the position of 
the hands, which may be shifted as you find necessary, up 
or down the upright pieces which form the back of the chair. 
A strong, old-fashioned kitchen-chair is the best for this 
purpose. 

THE STOOPING STRETCH. 
This feat, in which considerable agility may be acquired 
by practice, is performed in the 
foUowing manner: Draw a line 
on the floor, against which 
place the outer edge of the right 
foot ; at a moderate distance 
behind the right heel, place the 
left heel against the line. Take 
a piece of chalk in the right 
hand, stoop a little forward, 
pass the right hand between the legs immediately under the 
right knee, and chalk the floor as far beyond the line as you 
can, so that you can recover yourself without moving the 
toes of the feet, or touching the ground with either of your 
hands. In this case there is no spring from the hand, as 
the chalk only, which is held between the two fore-flngers, 
touches the floor. Your knee and body may project over 
the chalk Hne, if your feet keep their proper place, as above 
directed, on the outer side of it. 

THE GREAT WOODEN" BALL. 
Casting the wooden ball is a very good recreation. A 
large wooden bowler, in which several holes are bored, is 
used for this purpose. Place your thumb in one of these 
holes, and your middle, or fore-finger, in another, and cast 
it, under-handed, either at a mark or for a distance. The 




118 



BOYS OWJf BOOK. 



common bowl used in skittle-alleys (we do not mean those 
used for nine-pins) will afford a pattern ; the maker must, 
however, remember that its dimensions are to be decreased, 
it being too heavy, and the finger-holes too far apart for the 
use of boys. It ought to be adapted in size to the age of 
those persons for whose use it is intended. 

THE TURN-OVER. 

In performing this feat, it is necessary to take a rim of 
half-a-dozen paces. The trick is to place the toe of the right 
foot against the wall, about the 
height of the knee from the ground, 
and to throw the left leg over it, 
making an entire revolution, so that 
when your left leg reaches the ground, 
your back wUl be to the wall. The 
toe of the right foot is the point upon 
which you must turn ; and it must 
not quit the wall during the perform- 
ance of the exploit. To perform the 
turn-over appears to be a matter of 
considerable difficidty, at the first glance of the descrip- 
tion ; but it may be attempted by a lad of tolerable activity, 
who has made himself master of the instructiQus, without 
danger, and in a short time accomplished with facility. 
Ordinary care must, of course, be taken during the early 
attempts. 

THE TANTALUS TRICK. 
An amusing scene may be produced by requesting a per- 
son to stand with his back close against the wall, and, when 
in this position, placing a piece of money on the ground a 
short distance before him, and offering it to him if he can 
pick it up without mo-\dng his heels from the wall. This, he 
will find, is impossible, as on stooping forward, a part of the 
body goes back beyond the heels, which, in this case, the 
waU wiU, of course, prevent. 




boys' own book. 



119 




TRIAL OF THE THUMB. 
This feat is very simple. Place the inside of the thumb 
against the edge of a table, 
and then move yohr feet 
backward as far as you can 
from the table, so as to be 
able to recover your upright 
position by the spring of 
your thumb without moving 
your feet. You may accom- 
plish this feat with much 
greater ease, if, previously 
to springing from the 

thumb, you make two or three bends to and fro with your 
body. Neither the fingers, nor any part of the hand, ex- 
cept the thumb, should touch the table. It is advisable to 
begin by making the spring with your feet at a short dis- 
tance only froin the table at first, and to draw them further 
from it gradually as you improve in the performance of the 
feat. The table from which you spring ought to be a heavy 
one, or the opposite end of it placed close against a wall, 
otherwise you may push it back when making your spring; 
in which case, a fall on the hands and knees would be almost 
inevitable. 

THE PALM-SPRING. 

A feat, which afiords excellent exercise, something similar 
to the thumb-trick, is perform- 
ed by standing with your face 
toward a wall and throwing 
yourself forward, until you sup- 
port yourself from falling, by 
the palm of one of the hands 
being placed, with the fingers 
upward, against the wall ; when 
in this position, you must re- 
cover your former erect station 
by springing from your hand, without bringing your feet for- 




120 boys' OWN" BOOK. 

ward. According to the greater or less distance you stand 
from the wall, the more or less difficult the feat will be. As 
in the feat of the Trial of the Thumb, it is better to begin 
the performance of the Palm-spring at a short distance only 
from the wall, at first; by practice, if you are active and 
resolute, you may, at last, rise with ease with your feet placed 
full two-thirds of your own height distant from the wall. 

. LEAP BEFORE YOU LOOK. 
Much care must be taken in this, as well as in " The 
Tumble-down Dick " feat, lest you hurt yourself. Procure 
a chair that is strong, and at the 
same time so narrow in the back 
that you can bestride it with 
ease; stand on the seat, push 
with your hands against the top 
rail, and your knees against the 
middle one, until you get it 
tilted on its back legs ; but be- 
fore you lose your footing, leap 
from the seat, so as to alight on 
the ground, still holding the top 
rail in your hand, and the back of the chair between your 
legs. We repeat that great caution is necessary at first, but 
after a little practice, the feat is very easy. Without confi- 
dence in your own powers, it can never be performed ; to 
give you this necessary confidence, be assured that hundreds 
have succeeded in achieving it. 

TEE PULLEY. 
Fasten a common pulley to a horizontal piece of wood, or 
the branch of a tree ; run a cord through it, with a cross 
piece of wood at each end ; two boys take hold of these cross 
pieces, — one lies on his back, and the other pulls him up, 
sinking himself as he raises his companion ; he in turn, is 
elevated in the same manner, and thus each sinks and is 
raised alternately. 




boys' 0W2<r BOOK. 



121 




TO TAKE A CHAIR PROM UNDER YOU WITHOUT 
FALLING. 

The figure represents a youth with the back part of his head 
resting on one stout chair, and his heels upon another, and 
a third chair, which ought to be of rather a lighter make, is 
placed under 
him. He must 
stiffen his body 
and limbs, 
throw up the 
chest, keep the 
shoulders 

doAvn, and disengage the middle chair, which he must carry 
round over his body until he deposits it again under him on 
the opposite side. This is another of those feats which 
seem yery difficult, but which are, in fact, easy of execu- 
tion. Be assured that if you do not succeed in it, provided 
the middle chair be not too heavy for your strength, it is 
because you have not sufficiently attended to the instruc- 
tions. 

BREAST TO MOUTH. 

Many persons find much difficulty in performing this feat. 
Measure the distance between the outside of the elbow and 
the extremity of the longest 
finger; mark that distance 
on a waUdng-stick or ruler, 
as shown by Fig. 2. This 
stick must be held horizon- 
tally before you, as in the 
annexed sketch. Fig. 1 ; the 
middle finger being placed 
exactly over the mark ; the 
fingers must be kept at 12 

right angles with the stick, and the thimib placed over 
them, as shown by the fist grasping the stick (Fig. 2.) 
6 




122 boys' owk book. 

Holding the stick in this position you must, without chang- 
ing the place of your fingers, lowering your head, or remov- 
ing your elbow from your side, endeavor to raise the left 
end of the stick from your breast to your mouth. 

THE POKER PUZZLE. 

This feat is to be performed with a common fire-poker, 
which you must hold near the top, between the fingers and 
thumb. You must then, by the mere motion of the fingers 
and thumb, work or screw the poker upward, until the 
slender part is moved up to the hand, whilst the poker re- 
mains perpendicular during the whole process. For the first 
few times that this is attempted to be done, considerable 
ILfficulty will be met with, as it not only requires strength 
in the fingers, proportionate to the weight of the poker, but 
also a certain knack, which is only to be acquired by prac- 
tice. "We have seen some persons perform the poker puzzle, 
apparently without the least exertion, while others of equal 
strength have tried their utmost, and failed in the execution 
of it at last. 

THE CATCH-PEKNY. 

This is a trick with which many of our young friends are 
doubtless well acquainted ; there are others of them who 
never heard of it, and we therefore give a sufficiently minute 
description of the manner of doing it, for the benefit of 
those who are in the latter case. 

Place two, three, or even four penny pieces in a heap on 
your elbow ; drop your elbow suddenly, and bring your 
hand to a little below where your elbow was, and you 
may catch them all. It is impossible, however, to ac- 
complish this, unless you bring your hand exactly beneath 
the bend of your elbow, and perform the motion with 
quickness. 

STILTS. 

Walking on stilts is practised by the shepherds of the 
Landes, or desert in the South of France. The habit is 



boys' OWiT BOOK. 



123 



acquired early, and the smaller the boy is, the longer it is 
necessary to have his stilts. By means of these odd addi- 
tions to the natural leg, the feet are kept out of the water, 
"which lies deep during winter on the sands, and from the 
heated sand during summer ; in addition to which, the 
sphere of vision over so perfect a flat is materially increased 
by the elevation, and the shepherd can see his sheep much 
further on stilts than he could from the ground. Stilts are 
easily constructed : two poles are procured, and at some dis- 
tance from their ends, a loop of leather or rope is securely 
fastened ; in these the feet are placed, the poles are kept in 
a proper position by the hands, and put forward by the 
action of the legs. A superior mode of making stilts is by 
substituting a piece of wood, flat on the upper surface, for 
the leather loop ; the foot rests on and is fastened by a strap 
to it ; a piece of leather or rope is also nailed to the stilt, 
and passed round the leg just below the knee ; stilts made 
in this manner do not reach to the hands, but are managed 
entirely by the feet and legs. In many parts of England, 
boys and youth frequently amuse themselves by 

WALKING ON STILTS. 




124 boys' owjst book. 



FENCING. 

Wouldst have thy son acquire a graceful port, 
A manly bearing ;— make his eye acute 
As that of the hawk, and his young limbs vie 
With those of roe- bucks in agility ? — 
The noble art of Fencing let him learn. 

In those days when a small sword was an indispensable 
ornament to the person of a gentleman, objections were 
sometimes raised to the cultivation of the art of Fencing, as 
tending to lead young persons into broils and duels ; but 
nothing can now be said against it on this score ; the wear- 
ing of swords, except among military men, has long ceased, 
and duels being invariably decided in this country by 
pistols. The art of Fencing is acquired, therefore, as the 
means of affording excellent exercise, elegant amusement, 
and imparting an easy deportment and graceful action, as 
well as extraordinary acuteness of eye, and agility of body. 
That it has these merits, there can be no doubt ; and it is, 
therefore, confidently recommended to youth, as being not 
only perfectly unexceptionable, but even superior' in most 
respects to all other exercises. 

FOILS, MASKS, ETC. 

The foUs should be proportioned to the size of those who 
use them. Thirty-one inches is the medium for men ; it is 
advisable to use a glove on the right hand, padded on the 
back and the outside of the fingers ; the masks must have 
wire fronts stout enough to resist an accidental thrust at 
the face. An easy dress should be worn, and it is usual, in 
academies, to have a spot, or heart, on the left side of the 
breast of the waistcoat. 

HOW TO HOLD THE FOIL. 

The hilt must be flat in your hand ; so that the two edges 
are nearly horizontal when you throw yourself upon guard ; 



boys' OWJJT BOOK. 125 

your thumb should be stretched along the upper flat part of 
the hilt, ■within half an inch of the sheU, and the pommel 
should rest under your wrist. 

COMMON" GUARDS OF CARTE AND TIERCE. 

Stand in first position, which is similar to the first posi- 
tion in dancing, that is, your right foot forward, with the 
heel advanced ; then throw yourself upon the common guard 
or carte, by advancing your right foot about half a yard 
from the left. The two heels should be in the same line. 
Turn your -wrist so that your nails may appear upward. Let 
your hand be on a line with the lower part of your breast ; 
the arm not stretched, but a little bent, and the elbow in- 
clined a little to the outside. The point of your foU shoidd 
be about fifteen degrees 
elevated, and nearly fix- 
ed on a line with the up- 
per part of your adver- 
sary's breast. The left 
arm (which is necessary 
to balance the body in 
its different movements) 
must be raised in a semi- 
circular manner, on a 
line with the forehead, the hand kept open in an easy man- 
ner, the thumb and first finger nearly meeting. Your body 
should be sideways, and your head turned toward the right, 
so as to keep sight of your point. Let the balance of your 
body rest upon the left leg, keep the left knee bent and 
fiexible, so that you may incline a little backward; the 
right knee should also be rather bent, and perpendicular to 
the point where your right heel rests. 

The position of the guard in tierce is similar to that of 
carte, only the hand must be a little reversed, so that the 
nails may be half turned downward. The arm should be a 
little stretched outward, in order to secure or cover the out- 
side, and the point should be as in carte. 




126 boys' owk book. 

ENGAGING AND DISENGAGING. 

Engaging in carte, or in tierce, is opposing your adver- 
sary's blade, either inside or outside, when you first join or 
cross blades on guard. Disengaging is performed by dex- 
terously shifting the point of your foil from one side of 
your adversary's blade to the other ; that is from carte to 
tierce, or vice versa. 

THE ADVANCE AND RETEEAT. 

In order to advance, move the right foot easily forward to 
the distance of more than a foot, and let the left foot in- 
stantly follow to the same distance ; these two movements 
must be performed in the same moment. Keep your body 
firm and steady while you repeat this five or sis times ; and 
let there be a short pause between every advance. After 
making five or six advances, observe if the distance and 
position of your guard be exactly the same as your distance 
and position were when you commenced. In the retreat, 
your left foot makes the first movement backward, and your 
right follows at the same moment. 

THE SIMPLE PARADES OP CARTE AND TIERCE. 

These are distinguished from all the others, on account of 
their securing the breast, as upper parades. To perform 
that of carte, place yourself on the common guard, and 
throw your hand toward the left, or inward, about six inches 
from guard, making a gradual turn upward with the wrist, 
in order to throw off your adversary's blade with the greater 
ease ; at the same time draw your hand a little toward your 
body, that the opposition may be more powerful. 

The simple parade of tierce is also performed from the 
common guard by throwing and stretching your arm ob- 
liquely downward to the right (or outwardly), the nails 
being reversed by the gradual turn of the wrist, in forming 
the parade. It parries the simple thrust of carte over the 



boys' owk book. 



127 



arm and seeonde. The distance of the hand from the com- 
mon guard should be six inches. The point of your foil, 
your body and legs, should not deviate from the line of di- 
rection in performing either of these parades. 




THE EXTENSION, LONGE, THRUSTS OF CARTE, 
CARTE OVER THE ARM, AND TIERCE. 

Thrusts are, for the most part, executed with the longe, 
except thrusts of the wrist, and thrusts of the extension. 
They may be per- 
formed either after 
disengaging the 
point or not. To 
perform the straight 
thrust of carte in- 
s i d e, your point 
must be directed to 
your adversary's 
breast, the arm -well 
raised, and opposed 

inside, the nails upward, your body projecting forward, 
and an extension performed of the right arm and left leg. 
( Vide cut, which represents the position of extension.) 
Then push home the thrust in carte by longeing out to a 
distance proportionate with your height. Your left arm 
should be stretched down by the flank, at the distance of 
two or three inches, and always raised as you recover upon 
guard, by way of grace and balance to your movements. 
Tour body should incline a little forward ; the head be raised 
upright, looking outward over the shoulders, so as to have 
a full view of the point. As you approach your adversary's 
breast, make a gradual resistance against his foil inward, 
by way of cover to your longe. Keep the right knee bent, 
and in a perpendicular posture with your heel; the left 
knee and ham stretched, with the foot firmly fixed to the 
ground. 



128 boys' OWN" BOOK. 

To recover yourself with the requisite ease, lean with some 
degree of force on the heels of both feet ; the greatest force 
is first upon the right, then it falls on the left ; by bending 
the left knee at the same time, and inclining the body back- 
ward, you come to guard. The thrust of carte over the arm 
is performed in the same manner as carte inside, by disen- 
gaging to tierce, with this difference, that the head is raised 
upright on the inside, and the hand well opposed outward, 
in order to be well covered. The thrust of the tierce differs 
only from carte over the arm by reversing the wrist, the 
hand being well raised and opposed outward. 

THE PARADES OF OCTAVE AND SEMI-CIRCLE. 

To perform the octave parade, raise the hand as high as 
your chin, the nails must not be turned up so much as in 
semi-circle ; your arm should be well stretched and thrown 
outward the distance of six inches ; the wrist should be 
bent as much as possible, in order that the point may fall 
on a line with your adversary's flank, making nearly the 
same angle from guard-point as semi-circle. Semi-circle 
parade is useful against thrusts of low carte, seconde, and 
the disengage and thrust of carte ove:r the arm. Let your 
body be steadily inclined upon the left side; drop your point, 
with the naUs upward so as to form an angle of nearly 
forty-five degrees with the guard-point. At the same time, 
stretch your arm well out, raise the hand as high as your 
mouth, and throw your arm inward, the distance of six 
inches from the line of direction in your common guard, 
that your point may appear to the eye inlooking to your 



THE SIMPLE PARADES OF SECO]!n)E AND PRIME. 

These two parades are not used so frequently as the pre- 
ceding four. Seconde is very powerful against the simple 
thrusts of low carte and seconde. To perform it from carte 



boys' owk book. 139 

to tierce, the nails and wrist should be turned downward, 
the point be dropped, and the hand opposed outward, as in 
the parade of octave. The point's tract from guard is also 
nearly the same with the parade in octave, and the inclina- 
tion of the blade should form the angle of forty-five degrees. 
Prime is performed with the nails turned downward, the 
hand raised higher than the mouth, and opposed inward, 
in the same manner as semi-circle. The arm should be 
drawn well in toward the body, and the wrist bent down- 
ward, that the point may fall more than in other low parade. 

LESSONS AND VARIATIONS IN SEMI-CIRCLE, LOW 
CARTE, AND OCTAVE. 

On the engagement of carte, drop your point and deliver 
the thrust of low carte. On the same engagement your ad- 




versary thrusts straight home ; throw it off by parade in 
carte, then deliver a return of the thrust in low carte. On 
the same engagement disengage to tierce, and thrust carte 
over the arm ; he opposes it with his parade, and returns a 
disengaged thrust in carte, which throw off with the parade of 
carte ; then, with vivacity, drop your point and deliver a 
thrust in low carte. On the engagement of tierce, your ad- 
versary, by disengaging, attempts to deliver a thrust win lo 
6* 



130 boys' owinT book. 

> 

carte ; throw it off by performing the parade of octave ; then 
make a quick return of the thrust in octave. 

On the engagement of carte, he thrusts low carte, parry 
it by octave ; instantly form your extension, fix your point 
well to his body, and you may almost make sure of touching 
him," {Vide cut.) 

On the engagement of carte, he disengages to tierce, and 
thrusts, throw it off by your parade of tierce ; then reverse 
your nails upward and return a thrust in octave. 

On the same engagement, he thrusts low carte ; oppose it 
by forming your parade in semi-circle ; then deliver a thrust 
in octave by disengaging over his arm, commonly called a 
counter disengagement. 

LOW CARTE, OCTAVE, SECONDE, AND PEIME 
THRUSTS. 

Low carte, sometimes called semi-circle thrust, is de- 
livered after forming the parade of semi-circle, in the same 
manner as simple carte thrust; only the hand and point 
must be fixed lower. It is an excellent thrust, if your ad- 
versary have frequent recourse to his high parades. 

Octave thrust is delivered after the -parade of octave on 
the flank or beUy ; the arm being well opposed outward. If- 
you parry youx adversary's thrust by octave, your return 
will naturally be the thrust of octave, which may, at the 
same time, touch him with the extension only, without the 
longe. 

The thrust in seconde is delivered after the parade of the 
tierce, or when engaged by tierce, by dropping your point 
under your adversary's wrist with the naUs downward ; longe 
and deliver the thrust on the flank. 

Prime is the natural thrust in return, after having parried 
your adversary's force, when advanced considerably within 
his measure, and pressing vigorously upon you. It is only 
an extension of the arm from the opposition of the parade 
to your adversary's body, the nails being kept downward. 
The arms should be well raised and opposed inward. 



boys' owk book. 131 

VARIATIONS AND LESSON ON ENGAGING AND 
DISENGAGING, ADVANCING AND RETREAT- 
ING, SIMPLE PARADES, AND THRUSTS OP 
CARTE AND TIERCE. 

Suppose you are engaged in carte with an adversary ; he 
retreats ; you advance, well covered in carte ; he retreats 
again ; you advance with a disengagement to tierce, and so 
forth, alternately, taking care that you are properly covered 
on each engagement; his retreat and your advance should 
be comprehended in the same moment of time ; in the same 
manfier, you may retreat while he advances. On the en- 
gagement of carte, your adversary delivers a thrust in carte ; 
oppose it by forming your parade in carte, then return the 
straight thrust thereof. He again thrusts straight in the 
same manner ; also throw it off by forming your parade in 
carte ; deliver in return the thrust of carte over the arm by 
disengaging to tierce. On the engagement in tierce, he dis- 
engages and thrusts carte inside ; throw it off by your parade 
in carte, disengage, and thrust cart over the arm ; he 
parries, and returns in tierce, which you parry by a parade 
in tierce, and longe home with a straight thrust in tierce. 

LESSON AND VARIATIONS IN PRIME AND 
SECONDS. 

On the engagement of tierce, your adversary advances 




within his measure and delivers a thrust in tierce or carte 



133 boys' own book. 

over the arm; oppose his blade by the parade of prime, and 
return a thrust in prime. ( Vide cut.) 

On the same engagement he advances, disengages, and 
forcibly thrusts carte ; drop your point, and parry it with 
prime ; then disengage over his arm and return a thrust in 
seconde. 

On the engagement of carte he disengages, and thrusts 
carte over the arm ; parry it with simple tierce, and return 
a thrust in tierce ; he advances, as you recover, within his 
measure, forcing upon your blade ; form your parade in 
prime, and deliver a quick return of the thrust thereof. On 
the same engagement he again disengages, and thrusts carte 
over the arm, which parry with tierce, and return the 
thrust thereof; he forces a thrust without advancing, parry 
it with prime, then disengage over the arm and return your 
thrust in seconde. 

THE SALUTE. 

Place yourself on guard, engage your adversary's blade on 
the outside; by way of compliment, desire him to thrust 
first at you; then drop your point by reversing the nails 
downward, with a circular motion ; draw your right foot 
close behind the left, stretching both hams; raise your right 
arm, and with your left hand take off your hat gracefully ; 
then make a circular motion with your wrist, with the naUs 
upward, while you advance your right foot forward, forming 
your proper extension. Your adversary makes the same 
motions, keeping equal time with you, but instead of form- 
ing the extension, he makes a full longe, as if going to 
thrust carte inside, in order to take his measure, presenting 
his point at a little distance from your body while you re- 
main uncovered on the extension. {Vide cut.) 

When your adversary recovers his position, after having 
taken his measure, you also recover by drawing the right 
foot or heel close to the heel of the left ; the right hand well 
stretched and raised, the nails upward and the point 
dropped ; the left hand raised in a semi-circular form, as if 



boys' OWIf BOOK. 



133 




on guard, your hat held therein with ease and gracefulness; 
the head upright and the hams stretched. In this attitude 
salute first in carte, by forming the parade, then salute in 
tierce, by forming the parade of tierce ; lastly, make a cir- 
cular motion with the wrist, by dropping your point in 
tierce, at that moment putting on your hat, and throwing 
yourself upon the guard of carte. 

When it is your turn to push, the salute only differs in 
one particular from the above ; that is, instead of forming 
the extension, and uncovering the body, you make a full 
longe from the first position of the right foot behind the 
left in carte ; then, recover to the second position, by plac- 
ing the right foot or heel close to the heel of the left ; and 
conclude with the other movements. AU these motions 
should be performed with ease, grace, and without precipi- 
tation. After performing the salute, and being engaged in 
carte, yotir adversary, agreeably to the compliment offered, 
pushes at your breast by disengaging nimbly to tierce, and 
thrusting carte over the arm. Observe, that the wrist is 
never reversed when he disengages ; oppose it by performing 
the parade of tierce, then drop the point, by way of accus- 
toming yourself to make the return in seconde, which may 
be termed the grace on the parade of tierce. Remain on 
this grace till jowc adversary recovers to guard ; then join 
his blade in tierce ; he disengages, by thrusting carte inside ; 
throw it off by forming the parade of carte. 



134 



boys' OWiq" BOOK. 



The grace or ornament to be used after forming this pa- 
rade, wMle your adversary is upon the longe, is by allowing 
the foil to remain flexible in your hand, with the point 
downward, keeping your hand in the same direction as if 
covered upon the parade. ' 

Your adversary, after pushing tierce and carte alternately, 
commences the salute ; and while he is on the extension, you 
take the measure by longeing in carte. Having joined 
blades in carte, disengage, and thrust carte over the arm. 
Again, he joins your blade in tierce, disengage nimbly, and 
thrust carte inside. ( Yide cut.) 




He opposes in carte; then let the blade and point fly 
loosely over the hand having hold of your foil between the 
thumb and two first fingers, by which you will have a view 
of your adversary through the angle made thereby. This 
is the grace upon the longe of carte inside. « 



FEINTS. 

Feints are used to oblige your adversary to give you open- 
ings. The simple feint, une, deux (or one, two), is performed 
by two separate disengagements, either on the engagement 
of carte or tierce, when your adversary throws his simple 
parades. If engaged in carte, disengage closely to tierce, 
then quickly disengage back to carte, and deliver the thrust 
thereof. On the engagement of tierce, disengage first to 



boys' own book. 



135 



carte, then disengage back to tierce, delivering the thrust of 
carte over the arm. 

Feint seconde, carte over the arm, is performed when en- 
gaged in tierce, by dropping your point, and reversing the 
nails, as if you meant to thrust seconde ; then quickly turn 
them upward, and deliver the thrust of carte over the arm. 
On the same engagement, you may mark feint seconde, and 
thrust carte inside, if there be an opening. 

Feints une, deux, trois (or one, two, three), are performed 
by three separate disengagements, either from the engage- 
ment of carte or tierce. On the engagement of carte, mark 
feint, one, two, as above ; if your adversary form his simple 
parade of carte, nimbly mark your third disengagement, by 
thrusting carte over the arm. On the engagement of tierce, 
disengage three times, and deliver your thrust in carte in- 
side. 

COUNTER-DISENGAGEMENTS IN OCTAVE AND 
SEMI-CIRCLE. 

The counter-disengagements in octave may be performed 
after your adversary has thrust in seconde, and you have 
parried by semi-circle; as he uncovers, counter-disengage, 
and thrust in octave. {Vide cut.) 




To give a further exemplification of the counter-disen- 
gagement in octave, it is also performed by first making a 
feint, as if you intended to thrust octave ; he naturally op- 
poses it, by forming his parade in octave ; then nimbly dis- 



136 



boys' OWJSr BOOK. 



engage over his arm to carte inside, and deliver either that 
thrust, or the thrust of low carte. 




The counter-disengagement in semi-circle is performed on 
the engagement of carte, when your adversary accustoms 
MmseK to take the parade of semi-circle, by first making a 
feint, as if you meant to thrust low carte, which he attempts 
to parry with semi-circle, then nimbly disengaging over his 
arm, and delivering your thrust in octave. 

THE COUNTER, OR ROUND PARADES, IN" CARTE 
AND TIERCE. 

The counter-parade in carte, is esteemed one of the most 
essential, as it baffles a variety of thrusts, throws off the 
disengagements over the arm, etc. In order to perform it 
when your adversary disengages, follow his blade closely, 
with a small circle, entirely from the motion of the wrist, by 
which you join his blade always in carte. If he make a 
thrust with the disengagement, oppose it, by gradually cov- 
ering yourself with the parade of carte, after having fol- 
lowed his blade round. 

The counter, or round parade in tierce, is performed in a 
similar manner to the counter-parade of cai-te, only that 
the course of the point is reversed. For example: your ad- 
versary disengages to carte, with a view to thrust carte in- 
side ; follow his blade closely, with a small circle, made by 
the motion of the wrist reversed in tierce, stretching your 



boys' own book. 137 

arm, and giving his blade a smart and abrupt throw-off, as 
you overtake or meet it in tierce. The course of the point 
in forming the counter ia carte is inward, from left to right ; 
and in the counter-parade of tierce, the contrary. 

THE COUNTER-DISENGAGEMENTS IN PRIME 
AND SECONDS. 

The counter-disengagement in prime is seldom used ia at- 
tacks; but being so nearly related to prime parade and 
thrust, we shall here describe it. It is performed from the 
engagement of tierce, by forcing on your adversary's blade, if 
he betake himself to the parade of prime, then nimbly disen- 
gaging over his arm, and delivering your thrust in seconde. 

The counter-disengagement of seconde may be more fre- 
quently used ; it is performed from the engagement of carte, 
by dropping your point, or making a feint, as if you in- 
tended to thrust prime : your adversary opposes it, by per- 
forming the parade of seconde ; then disengage over his arm, 
and deliver your thrust by longeing in prime. 

LESSONS AND VARIATIONS ON THE COUNTER- 
PARADES IN CARTE AND TIERCE, AND THE 
COUNTER-DISENGAGEMENTS IN OCTAVE, ETC. 

On the engagement of carte, disengage and thrust carte 
over the arm ; your adversary opposes it, by forming the 
counter-parade of carte. Upon recovering, he, in return, 
disengages and thrusts carte over the arm; oppose it by 
counter-parade in carte, etc. ; disengaging and parrying al- 
ternately, always making complete longes with the thrusts, 
and moving well to guard, while forming the counter-pa- 
rades. Make your movements very slow and exact in the 
beginning, and gradually quicken them. Exercise on the 
engagement of tierce in the same manner: first, by disen- 
gaging and thrusting carte inside, which he opposes by 
forming the counter-parade in tierce; in return, he disen- 
gages and thrusts carte inside, which parry with the counter- 
parade in tierce, etc.: thrusting and parrying as above, 



138 boys' owijr book. 

until you quicken your movements with all possible exact- 
ness. 

On the engagement of tierce, if your adversary thrusts oc- 
tave in low carte, you may parry it with octave ; then coun- 
ter-disengage, and deliver a thrust in low carte. On the 
same engagement, he counter-disengages, and thrusts low 
carte, which oppose by your counter-parade in octave, and re- 
turn the thrust thereof. On the same engagement, he again 
counter-disengages, and thrusts low carte, which you may 
baffle by first forming the parade of octave, then forming the 
parade of semi-circle quickly after the other ; and, as he re- 
covers, counter-disengage, and thrust octave. 

On the engagement of tierce, advance within measure, 
forcing upon your adversary's blade ; he betakes himself to 
the simple parade of prime ; counter-disengage and thrust 
seconde. On the same engagement, he advances, forces, 
and counter-disengages as above ; but baffle his thrust in 
seconde by the counter-parade in prime, and return the 
thrust thereof. On the same engagement, he counter-dis- 
engages; follow his blade by the counter-parade in priine; 
if he attempt to double or disengage again, stop him, by 
forming your simple parade of seconde. 

On the engagement of carte, counter-disengage, when your 
adversary drops in seconde, and thrusts prime. On the same 
engagement, he counter-disengages, when you drop to sec- 
onde ; oppose it, by your parade of seconde ; then return a 
straight thrust in seconde. Or if, on the same engagement, 
he make a straight thrust in seconde, you may parry it with 
semi-circle, and return low carte thrust. On the same en- 
gagement, he counter-disengages, answer his movements by 
forming the simple parades of seconde and prime; then 
counter-disengage as he recovers, and deliver a thrust in 
seconde. 

CUT OVER THE POINT. ' 

This is performed when you perceive your adversary hold his 
hand low and his point is raised upon guard. To perform 
it from carte to tierce, raise your point quicldy, with the up- 



boys' owk book. 139 

•ward motion of your wrist, fairly over your adversary's 
point, without moving your arm from the line of direction, 
at the same time forming your extension, and deliver your 
thrust of carte over the arm. 

In the same manner you may execute cuts over the point 
from the engagement of tierce, when your adversary holds 
his point high. 

THRUST OF THE WEIST. 

This is performed when you perceive your adversary slow 
in making a return, after you have longed with a thrust ; as 
on the engagement of carte, suppose you thrust carte over 
the arm, which your adversary naturally parries with simple 
tierce, lean with some degree of force upon his blade, and, 
as you recover to guard, deliver him a thrust with the wrist 
in seconde. 

RETURN ON THE EXTENSION. 

This is performed after your adversary makes a full longe 
with a thrust, which you may parry so powerfully, as to 
throw his arm out of the line of direction ; then, with all 
possible quickness, extend your arm, and deliver him a 
straight thrust in return, before he has time to recover. If 
the extension of the arm be not within reach, form your 
complete extension of the leg and arm. 

APPELS, BEATS ON THE BLADE, AND GLIZADES. 

Appels, beats, and gUzades, tend to plant you firm upon 
your guard, to embarrasss your adversary, and cause him to 
give you openings ; they are performed previously to simple 
thrust, feints, or counter-disengagements, etc. An appel, or 
beat with the foot is performed either on the engagement of 
carte or tierce, by suddenly raising and letting fall the right 
foot, with a beat on the same sJDot ; taking care to balance 
the body, and keep a good position on guard. 

The beat on the blade, is abruptly touching your ad- 



140 boys' own book. 

versary's blade, so as to startle him, and get openings to 
thrust. If he resist the beat, instantaneously disengage, and 
thrust home. If he use a simple parade, mark feint one, 
two ; or, if he use a counter-parade, counter-disengage, or 
double. 

Glizades are slightly gliding your blade along your ad- 
versary's, at the same time forming the extension of the arm, 
or the complete extension, managing and restraining your 
body, so as to be aware of his thrust, and to make sure of 
your own. If you be engaged in carte, out of measure, 
a quick advance, with a glizade, must infallibly give you 
some openings, either to mark feints or otherwise. 

THE TIME-THRUST. 

This thrust is performed when your adversary is dilatory. 
On attempting to deliver this thrust, cover yourself well, by 
forming a gradual and strong opposition to your adversary's 
blade ; you can be in no danger of exposing yourself to an 
interchanged thrust, that is, a thrust at the same moment. 

LESSONS AND VARIATIONS TO FEINTS, APPELS, 
ETC. 

On the engagement of carte, mark feint one, two, and 
thrust carte inside. On the engagement of tierce, feint one, 
two, and thrust carte over the arm. On the engagement of 
carte, mark a feint over the arm, and thrust low carte. On 
the same engagement, mark feint over the arm, reverse the 
wrist, and thrust seconde. 

On the engagement of tierce, mark feint seconde, reverse 
the wrist, and thrust carte over the arm. On the same en- 
gagement, mark feint seconde, and thrust carte inside. On 
the engagement of carte, in attempting the feints one, two, 
if he baffle it by his counter-parade in carte, counter-disen- 
gage, and deliver the thrust of carte over the arm. 

On the engagement of carte, suppose your adversary hold 
his guard low, and his point high, make a cut over the 



boys' OWN" BOOK. 141 

point, forming your extension, and thrust carte over the arm. 
On the engagement of carte, cut over the point ; if he use 
a simple parade, disengage, and thrust carte inside. On the 
engagement of tierce, if your adversary hold his hand low, 
and point high, make a cut over the point, and thrust carte 
inside. On the same engagement, cut over the point twice, 
and deliver the thrust of carte over the arm. On the same 
engagement, cut over the point twice, then disengage, and 
thrust carte inside. On the same engagement, cut over the 
point, then mark feints one, two, and thrust carte inside. 

On the engagement of carte, disengage to tierce, and 
thrust carte over the arm ; if your adversary form his simple 
parade in tierce, and be slow in making a return, deliver 
him a thrust with the wrist in seconde, as you recover. On 
the engagement of tierce, disengage and thrust carte inside, 
or low carte ; if he parry it with octave, disengage over his 
arm as you recover and deliver him a thrust in low carte. 
On the engagement of carte, disengage and thrust seconde ; 
if he parry it with seconde, counter-disengage as you recover, 
and thrust prime. On the engagement of tierce, force upon 
his blade, disengage and thrust low carte ; he parries it with 
prime, and if slow in making a return, deliver the thrust in 
seconde with the wrist, as you recover. 

On the engagement of carte, give him some openings ; if 
he mark the feints one, two, and thrust, form your counter- 
parade in carte ; then deliver him a quick return with wrist 
in low carte, by forming the complete extension. On the 
engagement of tierce, in like manner, give him some open- 
ings; if he mark feints one, two, and thrust, form your 
counter-parade in tierce ; and, on the extension, deliver him 
a thrust in seconde. On the engagement of carte, if he 
execute low feints and thrusts, use the circle parade, and 
return a straight thrust on the extension before he recovers. 

On the engagement of carte, make an appel, or beat with 
the right foot at the same time beating abruptly on your 
adversary's blade, which wUl give you an opening to thrust 
carte straight home. On the same engagement, make an 



142 



boys' ow]^ book. 



appel, beat his blade, then disengage, and thrust carte over 
the arm. On the engagement of tierce, make an appel, 
beat his blade, and thrust tierce or carte over the arm. On 
the same engagement, make an appel, beat his blade, then 
disengage, and deliver a thrust in carte inside. On the en- 
gagement of tierce, make your appel, disengage to carte, 
by beating his blade, and thrust carte inside. 




On the engagement of tierce, perform a glizade along his 
blade, with the extension; if he do not cover himself, de- 
liver a straight thrust in carte over the arm. On the en- 
gagement of carte, make a glizade, drop your point, and 
deliver a thrust in low carte. On the engagement of tierce, 
perform a glizade, drop your point under his wrist, and de- 
liver a thrust in octave. 

On the engagement of tierce, he disengages to carte, then 
disengage contrarily, and thrust home carte over the arm. 
On the engagement of carte, when you find that your ad- 
versary holds his hand too low upon guard, and deviates 
from the guard rules, seize the opening, by pushing carte 
straight home. On the engagement of tierce, having the 
like opportunity, deliver the thrust of carte over the arm, 
straight home. 

On the engagement of carte, your adversary disengages to 
tierce; that instant disengage contrarUy (that is, to carte) 
and push home. ( Tide cut.) 

All these lessons should be performed repeatedly, and the 



boys' own book. 143 

pupil should often exercise with another who has had equal 
practice, executing all thrusts, feints, counter-disengage- 
ments, etc., while the other remains upon guard, making use 
of the necessary parades, etc. ; he should then, in turn, 
perform the practical movements, in order that both may 
make mutual progress in the art. 

THE SALUTE PREVIOUS TO ASSAULTS. 

On the engagement of tierce, make two quick appels, or 
beats, with the right foot; bring it close behind the left, 
near the shoe-tie, raising and stretching your right arm 
with the nails upward, and the point of your foil dropped ; 
at the same time, take off your hat gracefully, and hold it 
in your left hand, stretched down near the flank ; then, with 
a circular motion of the wrist, as if forming the counter in 
tierce, throw your left foot backwards, to the distance of 
your common guard, and raising your left hand, make two 
other appels; bring your left foot forward to the former 
position, that is, before the right, near the shoe-tie ; at the 
same time stretching your arm, with the nails upward as 
before, and in that position, form gracefully the parades of 
carte and tierce ; make a circular motion with the wrist, and 
advance your right foot, with vivacity, to your original 
guard, at the same time covering your head. All the move- 
ments in this salute should be performed in a more lively 
manner than those described in the salute previously to 
thrusting carte and tierce: observe, also, that these move- 
ments should keep exactly the same time with those of your 
adversary. 

DISARMING. 

After parrying your adversary's thrust by simple carte, 
or the counter in carte, without quitting his blade, lean 
abruptly thereon, and binding it with yours, reverse your 
wrist, with the nails downwards, as if in seconde, and with 
the motion thereof give his blade anabrupt twirl. (Vide 
cut.) 



14:4 



boys' own book. 




If this do not disarm him, it will throw his hand and 
blade out of the line of direction, so that you may effectually 
fix your point, and deliver him a thrust in seconde. 

Also, after parrying by simple tierce, cross his blade before 
he recovers ; make a strong and abrupt circular movement 
■with your wrist in seconde without quitting his blade, and it 
will either disarm, or give you an opening to deliver him a 
thrust. 

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS. 

Assume a bold air and steady position ; fix your eyes firm- 
ly on those of your adversary, so that he may not penetrate 
into your designs ; and keep your proper distance and meas- 
ure. It is a most essential point in assaults, exactly to know 
these ; for this purpose, observe the height of your adversary, 
the length of his foil, etc., and make the necessary allow- 
ances accordingly. If he make frequent practice of disen- 
gaging, beating your blade, and otherwise embarrassing 
you, with a "sdew to get openings, you may seize the occasion 
to deliver a time-thrust, taking care to cover yourself well, 
by forming a good opposition against his blade. "When on 
the engagement of carte, by way of snare, hold your point 
higher than usual ; if he attempt to make a cut over the 
point, that instant disengage contrarily and thrust carte in- 
side ; or you may, in preference to this, deliver a straight 
thrust in carte over the arm. {Tide cut.) 

Be not too eager in making your thrusts in return ; as, by 



boys' owk book. 



145 




an over-eagerness, learners contract a habit of returning 
their thrust by crooking the arm, which is quite erroneous. 
Form your parades justly, and accustom yourseK, at first, 
to make straight returns without disengaging. If you in- 
tend to return a thrust by disengaging, you should perform 
it the moment your adversary is recovering; it must proceed 
from the motion of the wrist, and not by crooking the arm. 
The distance of your guard should be moderate, two feet is 
the distance for men; by a wide guard, you keep your adver- 
sary at too great a distance, and have not that necessary 
command of throwing your body back far enough, when he 
advances and makes a full longe; neither can you retreat, or 
make returns with the necessary quickness; the lower part 
of the body is also more exposed than it would be on a proper 
medium guard. 

Never extend yourself too far on the longe, as it impedes 
your recovering to guard with the necessary quickness. Al- 
ways endeavor to recover quickly, and with as much ease as 
possible, fixing your point to your adversary's body, and 
forming the most natural parade, in case he should make a 
quick return. If engaged with an adversary of a shorter stat- 
ure, attack him on the engagement of tierce, as being more 
advantageous for a number of feints and thrusts than the 
engagement of carte, particularly for feint seconde over the 
arm, etc. 
If your adversary advance within his measure, and force 
7 



146 boys' owk book. 

in a straight thrust, carte over the arm, or in tierce, then 
raise and bend your arm, forming the parade of prime, and 
quickly return a straight thrust in prime, before he recovers ; 
or, if you have not opening sulTicient, disengage over his 
arm, and deliver a thrust in seconde. 

When you first enter upon the assaidt, you may engage 
your adversary's blade out of measure in carte, as being 
easier than the other engagement, for executing your differ- 
ent movements. . (Vide cut.) 




"When you engage your adversary's blade, act on the de- 
fensive for some time, in order to discover what feints or 
thrusts he prefers. Vary your parades as much as possible, 
so that he may not, in turn, ascertain your own favorites ; 
for, if a good fencer be found to use one parade in preference 
to another, he may be deceived with much less difficulty 
than might be imagined, and, eventually, be touched, by a 
person far less skillful than himself. A learner, therefore, 
should practise all the parades, and change them continual- 
ly, or, at least, as often as opportunities occur. He should 
endeavor to go from the high to the low parades, and from 
the latter to the former, with the utmost possible agility, 
until, by practice, he is enabled to parry almost every 
thrust. 

If you engage the blade in carte, cover your inside a little, 
and i£ in tierce, cover your outside, to prevent straight 



boys' owk book. 147 

thrusts on those engagements. When attacking, it is well 
to disengage dexterously, outside and inside, forming your 
extension as if you intended to thrust ; if this plan do not 
afford you some openings, it will, at least, in all probability, 
be the means of discovering your adversary's choice parades. 
If he use simple parades only, you may easily deceive him 
by making feints one, two, or one, two, three. If, on the 
contrary, he be a skillful fencer, and use various counter- 
parades you must endeavor to embarrass him, by appels, 
beats on the blade, extensions, glizades, counter-disengage- 
ments, etc. 

KNIGHTS. 

Two sturdy boys take each a smaller boy on their backs, 
and engage in a mock tournament, themselves acting as 
horses, while the youngsters grapple and strive to unseat 
each other. 

The real brunt of the fighting falls on the horses, upon 
whose strength and dexterity, much more than upon that of 
their respective "Knights," depends the ultimate issue of 
the combat. The horses may shove and jostle one another, 
but must not kick, trip, or use their hands or elbows. 

The victor is he who gains most falls in three rounds. 
The game should only be played upon turf, for safety's sake ; 
for sometimes, when horse and man go down together, the 
fall might prove a nasty one on hard ground, and at any 
time the rider is liable to be brought off backwards with a 
jerk, under which circumstances he will be thankful to 
measure his length on the soft turf, instead of lumpy gravel 
or unyielding pavement. 

ROSAMOND'S BOWER. 

This cut represents, it is said, the Maze at Woodstock, in 
which King Henry placed Fair Rosamond. It certainly is a 
most ingenious puzzle, and consists in getting from one of 
the numerous outlets, to the Bower in the centre, without 
crossing any of the lines. 




Rosamond's bower, 



boys' OWiT BOOK. 149 



CHESS. 



Chess, of all sedentary games, is undoubtedly the most 
eminent. Various accounts have been given of its origin. 
Some say it was first played at the siege of Troy, being in- 
vented by Palamedes to amUse the Grecian chiefs, disgusted 
with the tediousncss of the siege; but the most probable 
conjecture is that of Bochartus, who makes it of Oriental 
extraction, and to come to us from Persia through Arabia ; 
as most of the terms employed in the game are either 
corruptions or translations from the Persic or Arabic words. 
Thus, check is plainly derived from the Persian schach, 
or king; and mat, in the same language, signifies dead; 
hence check-mate, or, the king is dead. 

Chess is highly beneficial to the improvement of the mind ; 
nothing in it is governed by chance — judgment is every- 
thing, A player, therefore, cannot lay the blame of his 
losing on fortune, but must ascribe his miscarriages to de- 
ficiency of judgment, or inattention ; and for this reason it 
is the most interesting of games. It acts strongly, too, on 
the sense of honor ; irascible persons should therefore avoid 
it, unless they have learnt to acknowledge that the acutest 
minds may be guilty of an oversight. Chess has one splen- 
did advantage over almost all other sedentary games : that 
its lovers do not play at it for wagers, the honor of the vic- 
tory being the only reward of the conqueror. 

THE VARIOUS PIECES. 





Bishop, Rook or Cantle. KiDg. Qa>«a Knight, Pawa 

We now proceed to give a description of the various char- 



150 boys' OWiq^ BOOK. . 

aeters which constitute the little armies on the chess-board. 
Each party has a king, queen, two rooks or castles, two 
bishops, two knights and eight common men or pawns. 
The above are their representatives. 

THE KING. 

The Mng is the most important piece at Chess ; the sole 
object of the game is to hem him in, so that he cannot move 
without going into such a situation as would render him 
liable to be taken if he were not a Idng. He is then check- 
mated, and must surrender. He steps only from one square 
to the next at a time, but in any direction whatever, either 
forward, backward, sideways, or diagonally. He can also 
take any of the enemy's men in any square adjoining to him, 
so that he does not place himself in check ; that is, in such 
a situation as, if he were not a king, he could be taken by 
the enemy. The king, however, is never actually taken ; 
but if he be checked by one piece, and can neither take the 
hostile man, interpose any of his own, nor move into any 
other square without being in check from another, he loses 
the game. Whenever the king is in check, the adversary 
must say "check," to him, which is a warning either to de- 
fend himself by his other pieces, to take the man who 
assaults him, or to move into a place of safety. 

THE QUEEN. 

The queen is, in point of power, the best piece on the 
board. She moves, like the king, in all directions, and as 
far as she pleases, but at one move, and provided the squares 
be unoccupied in her line of motion. 

THE EOOK, OR CASTLE. 

The rooks or castles, are next in importance to the 
queen. Their motion is backward, forward, and sideways, 
and they may move as far as the field is open. 



boys' own book. 151 

THE BISHOP. 
The Mshop moves diagonally, as far as the squares are 
open, in any direction. The bishop, therefore, always keeps 
the same colored squares as that on which he is placed at the 
beginning of the game. 

THE KNIGHT. 

The knight is particularly useful at the beginning of the 
game, and should be one of the first pieces brought into 
play. The knight moves in a peculiar way, leaping from 
the square on which he stands into either of the next that 
has a corner in contact with one of the farther corners of 
the square over which he leaps. He always moves, there- 
fore, from white to black, or the contrary. As, for an ex- 
ample, from B 1 to A 3, C 3, or D 2. The move of the 
knight is one of the most difficult points of chess to explain 
in writing ; and we therefore recommend our young friends 
to take an opportunity of looking over a game of chess while 
playing, and fix the whole of the moves in their minds. 
A knight may be placed on any one square of the board, 
and conveyed hence into every one of the other squares in 
sixty-three moves. We subjoin an example of this curious 
problem at the end of the article. 

THE PAWNS. 
The pawns are of great consequence in defending the king ; 
and are very useful in attacking and repelling the pieces, 
under the management of a good player. If a pawn can 
proceed across the field to the rear line of the enemy, 
that is, from 3 to 8, or from 7 to 1, he is exchanged for 
a queen, or any other piece of his color that he chooses to 
demand. Thus, you may haA^e a second queen, even 
though you should have lost none of your pieces. The pawn 
moves straight forward, and only a single square at a time ; 
except on its being first moved, when the player may ad- 
vance it either one square or two, as from 2 to 3, or to 4, 
and from 7 to 6, or to 5; or when one takes a man from 



152 



boys' owk book. 



the enemy, -wMeh. is always done diagonally, or across the 
comers of the squares. But a pawn cannot move two 
squares forward, when the square over which he leaps is 
so viewed by an enemy's pawn, that the latter could take 
him in that square. For example, the pawn G 2 cannot 
be moved to G 4, if there be an enemy's pawn on H 4 
or F 4, without that pawn's having option of taking him 
on G 3, as he passes. 

THE CHESS-BOARD. 

The common draughts- 
board, containing sixty- 
four squares, one-half 
white and one-half black, 
is also a chess-board. It 
is so placed that each 
player has a Avhite square 
at his right-hand corner. 
There are eight rows of 
squares, which, in the cut, 
are marked A to H ; and 
eight rows in the cross 
direction, 1 to 8. Thus, any square may be readily pointed 
out ; for instance, the square x on the figure will be indi- 
cated by D 5 ; and if a man were to be moved from x to 
y, this would be expressed by the words "from D 5 to F 
3." The letters and figures should be written on the margin 
of the board, or a pasteboard, for practising the games and 
situations hereafter described. 

There is another mode of indicating the squares, by the 
pieces that occupy them at the commencement ; this it may 
be as well to insert. The square in the comer, at the right 
hand of the player who has the white men, is the white 
king's rook's square ; that before it, the white king's rook's 
second square ; the next, his third square ; and the follow- 
lowing, his fourth square. This meets the black king's 
rook's fourth square ; and thus the row proceeds, through 




boys' own book. 153 

the black king's rook's third and second squares, to the 
black king' s rook's square at the left-hand comer of the 
player with black. The same mode is adopted by all the 
rest ; the pieces on the queen's side of the board being dis- 
tinguished as the queen's rook, knight, and bishop. 

PLACING THE MEN ON THE BOARD. 

The rooks occupy the four corners of the board; the 
knights stand next to these ; the bishops next to the knights ; 
the queens on D 1 and D 8 ; and the kings on E 1 and E 8. 
Thus, the pieces or officers, stand opposite each other re- 
spectively, at different sides of the board ; the queens being 
on the squares of their own color, and the kings the contrary. 
The row immediately in front of the officers is occupied by 
the pawns. The value of the men has been estimated as in 
the following proportion to each other : — the queen, 95 ; a rook, 
60 ; a bishop, 39 ; a knight the same as a bishop ; the king (esti- 
mated as a fighting piece) 20 ; a pawn, 8, or rather more, 
from its chance of promotion, by being moved to a square 
that entitles its player to exchange it for a queen or any 
other piece he chooses to demand. 

LAWS OP THE GAME. 

1. Each player marches his men forward, gradually, 
against those of the enemy, or retreats when the game is 
open behind them, except only as regards the pawns, which 
can only move forward. Each party moves alternately, one 
man at a time. 

2. In each game, the players have the first move alternate- 
ly, except where one gives the other the advantage of a 
piece or a pawn, in which ease, the party by whom such 
piece or pawn is given is entitled to the first move. 

3. If you misplace your men at the beginning, and play 
four moves, your adversary may permit you to begin the 
game afresh, or not as he pleases. 

4. If you touch a man, you must play it, except it would 
discover check on your king ; in which case you can only 

7* 



154 boys' owk book. 

move the king, if it be practicable. "When you bave taken 
your hand from your man, he must remain where he is ; but 
as long as you keep hold of him, you are at liberty to place 
him where you please, though you may have set him down 
upon a square. 

5. If you touch one of your adversary's men, he may 
insist upon your taking it, if you can; if not, you must 
move your Idng, if that be possible, without putting him in 
check. 

6. You cannot castle after moving the rook or king ; if 
you attempt to do so, your adversary may insist on your 
moving one of those pieces, at his option. 

7. If you make a false move, such as moving one of your 
opponent's men in mistake for one of your own, taking off 
one of your own pieces instead of liis, etc., your opponent 
can oblige you to replace such move, and move your king, 
if you can do so without placing him in check ; but if he 
have played before he notices your false move, neither of 
you can afterwards recall it. 

8. If your opponent challenge you with a check without, 
in fact, your king being in check, and you, in consequence, 
move your king, or any other man, you may retract such 
move if you discover it before he has made his next move. 

9. If your adversary give you check without warning, or 
saying " check," you are not obliged to notice it till he does; 
but if, on his next move, he warn you, each party must re- 
tract his last move, and the check be provided for as if 
just given. 

10. Toil must not check the opposite king with any piece, 
by moving which to do so you expose your own king to a 
check. 

11. If the king be not in check, but cannot move without 
going into check, and have no piece or pawn left, or even 
none that can be moved, he is stale-mated, and the game is 
drawn. 



boys' ow]^ book. 155 

PLATING, CHECKma, CASTLING, ETC. 
It is usual to begin with advancing the king's paAvn two 
squares, that is, from E 2 to E 4, or from E 7 to E 5 ; because 
this opens the way for the king's bishop and the queen. It 
is, however, perfectly optional ; this, as well as aU the rest 
of his moves, being regulated either by some plan which 
the player has formed for attacking his eneiny, or as he may 
find a necessity of defending himself from his enemy's at- 
tack. The object of the game, which is to give the enemy 
check-mate, can scarcely be effected without some settled 
plan. The player must look forward through a considerable 
number of moves, which will be requisite to bring his men 
into a given position, and also to provide, from time to time, 
against his antagonist's attempts to frustate his design or 
attack him in turn. He must seek to penetrate his adversary's 
plots from the moves he makes. He is not obliged to take 
a man when it is in his power; but, when he does, the man 
with which he takes it, must be placed on the square oc- 
cupied by the man taken. When the king is in such a 
situation that another move could take him, were he not 
king, he is in check. The modes of extricating the king 
from check are as follows : — If the man that checks him be 
in an adjacent square, the king may take such man if he be 
not guarded ; that is, if another man of his own color have 
it not in his power to move into the square in which the 
man is placed if he be removed from it ; since, in this case, 
the king would place himself in check again. For example, 
suppose the king in E 1, and an enemy's pawn, advanced to 
D 2, give him check ; the king cannot take the pawn, if the 
enemy have another pawn, or a bishop in C 3 or E 3, or a 
rook or queen anywhere in the open row D D, etc. The 
man that checks may also be taken by some other man, to 
whose attack he is open ; or a man may be placed between 
the king and the checking man (unless it be the knight) if 
there be a vacant square between them. Lastly, the king 
may be moved into another square which is not commanded 
by the adversary's pieces. The king is check-mated, and 



156 boys' oavjs" book. 

the game is lost, if he cannot extricate himself by either of 
these moves. A king cannot go into a square next the 
opposite king ; he cannot therefore give check ; because, in 
doing this, he would go into check himself. 

Castling is allowed once in a game. It consists in moving 
the king two squares to the right or left, and bringing the 
rook on that side to the square adjoining the king on the 
other. Thus the king may be moved from E 1 to G 1, and 
the rook brought from H 1 to P 1 ; or the king may be 
moved to C 1, and the rook from A 1 to D 1. Castling is not 
allowable when the king, or the rook with which you would 
castle, has been moved ; when the king is in check, or when 
the king must pass over a square in which he would be 
checked. Suppose the king would move from E 1 to Gr 1, 
he must pass over F 1. But, if there be a queen or rook of 
the enemy anywhere on the row F, as far as it is open ; or, 
in short, if F 1 be commanded by any one of the enemy's 
men, the king cannot castle on that side, neither can he do 
so when there is a man between himself and the rook. 

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS. 

If the king's pawn be advanced two squares, and the 
queen's one square, an opening is made both for the queen 
and the queen's bishop to the king's side of the board ; and 
the king's pawn cannot be taken without the queen's pawn 
taking the adversary's man in turn, and supplying his place. 
If two pawns be advanced side by side, neither defends the 
other ; this is sometimes done to further a plan of attack ; 
the pawn sacrificed on these occasions is called the gambit 
pawn. After the pawns are advanced a certain way, the 
knights may be brought forward, either to support them, or 
act upon the offensive. 

The plan of attack should be gradually formed from the 
commencement of the game, and each step taken should 
have a tendency to forward it, unless when it is necessary 
to thwart the plan of the adversary. The player must not 
suffer himself to be diverted from a well-concerted project 



boys' owi;r book. 157 

by any collateral advantage ; for the taking of a pawn or 
piece may prove injurious when it leads to a deviation from 
the principal object. If your plan be discovered and frustrat- 
ed, it is better to form a new one than to persevere in the 
old. Your plan should not only be concealed from your 
adversary, but you must also discover, if possible, what your 
adversary can do to counteract your moves. A plan may be 
most effectually concealed by excluding the queens and 
rooks, or by executing it through the agency of inferior 
pieces or pawns, or by masking the pieces intended to effect 
it behind men which are apparently indifferent. The skil- 
ful player, if his moves be calculated with precision, will 
sacrifice his most important pieces without hesitation, to 
mislead his antagonist, or, when necessary, to the accom- 
plishment of his plan ; nay, he will often do this intention- 
ally, to lead his opponent into the hope of winning, and give 
his antagonist check-mate, when he fancies he has the game 
in his hands. To give cheek without having it in your 
power to follow it up, is, in general, bad play. If your 
checking piece can immediately be repulsed, you lose a 
move ; never proceed to an attack therefore without good 
preparation ; and if your attack proceed well, do not suffer 
yourself to be drawn aside after any bait that your antagonist 
may throw in your way. • The object in chess is, to give 
check-mate, and not to take pieces. Sacrifice your own 
willingly, when the loss of them will open the line of de- 
fence adopted by your opponent. 

If a man of the enemy be exposed, examine whether it 
were left so from necessity, oversight, or design. You do 
not always gain by taking a piece, you may be check-mated 
in consequence of taking even a queen. Be not eager to 
take a pawn in front of your queen; for, as your antagonist 
cannot take him, he is frequently a better protection than a 
man of youj own. If you cannot save a piece, endeavor to 
take one of the enemy's ; or, by improving your situation, ob- 
tain a compensation for the loss. Examine which will be 
the best, when you can take a piece two or more ways. If 



158 boys' OWIf BOOK. 

your antagonist can take the man in return, take it with 
that man which is of the least value. To exchange man 
lor man, occasionally, is good play, or even to exchange a 
queen for a pawn, when this pawn would prevent you from 
giving mate, or to exchange man for man, when the enemy's 
man thus taken is one particularly in action. 

Guard your men sufficiently ; and if one doubly guarded 
of the enemy's be exposed to a guarded man of yours, let 
yours be trebly guarded. The more valuable men should be 
guarded by those of inferior worth ; for, if your opponent 
guard his inferior piece by another inferior piece, you can- 
not employ your better piece to take your enemy's, as it would 
be lost. A far advanced pawn should be well guarded, for it 
is often indispensable to a check-mate, and may make a 
queen. 

Castling is not always advantageous, as from the confined 
situation in which it places the king, it sometimes (par- 
ticularly when the adversary has his knights in play) pre- 
vents his escaping out of check. It is, however, possible to 
retain the power of doing so, and keep the requisite pawns 
in their places. For as long as you have it in your power 
to castle, your opponent will be at a loss on which side to 
direct his attack ; when he has decided, and brought his 
main strength to bear on one side, you can frustrate his de- 
sign by castling on the other. It is not always good play 
not to stir the three pawns in front of the king that has 
castled ; for liberty of moving may be necessary to get the 
king out of check. Crowd not your men too much to- 
gether, as this restrains their movements. A man that can- 
not move is often worse than lost, by standing in the way. 
Endeavor to crowd your antagonist's game, in which you 
may succeed, if he bring out his pieces too early, by driving 
them back with your pawns. Endeavor to open your game 
by exchanging men in those parts where you want room, if 
you get unintentionally crowded. 

Never make a move without examining whether you be 
endangered by the last move of your antagonist ; nor with- 



boys' owk book. 



159 



out calculating whether it wUl allow your enemy to harm 
you by his next. Beware of your enemy's knights, as they 
command different squares at once in a peculiar way. If a 
knight command the square of a queen or rook, at the same 
time that he gives check, the piece must be lost unless the 
knight can be taken ; to avoid this, which is called forking, 
when a knight is near, a good piece should never be kept on 
a square of the same color as that occupied by your king. 
Do not let an enemy's pawn attack two of your pieces at once. 
Beware of two, and still more of three pieces, that manifest 
a design on the same square. Block up the way to such 
square by one of your pawns or a guarded piece. Your 
queen should never stand before your king, as, in such a 
situation, she may be lost, by a guarded rook being brought 
in her front. 

STALE-MATE. 

We have already stated, that if you have no pawn or piece, 
except the king, on the board, that you can move consist- 
ently with the laws of chess, and, at the same time, if your 
king, not being already in check, cannot move without going 
into check, a stale-mate ensues, and the game is drawn, being 
won by neither party. 



It affords us gratifica- 
tion to be enabled to lay 
before our readers the 
following few diagrams, 
which we have person- 
ally proved, from a very 
old and scarce Spanish 
author, Damiano, the 
earliest practical writer 
on chess, with the ac- 
companying explana- 
tions, translated from 
the original, expressly 
for this work. 



CURIOUS PROBLEMS. 
No. 1. 
White offers to give check-mate in (wo motel. 




160 



BOYS OWH BOOK. 



Ko. 2. 
White undertakes to mate in three moves. 



White's 'first move will be the pawn to A, and if Black 
then check with the rook, "White will coyer by his knight, 
and, in so doing check-mate the Black king with the castle. 
If Black, after White has moved his pawn as above, place 
his castle in C, White will make his pawn a queen, and so 
check-mate the adversary. If, in the first instance, instead 
of moving his rook, Black prefers queening the pawn, and, 

in so doing, giving check, 
White interposes his 
knight on B, and thus 
opens mate for the rook. 

White checks by play- 
ing the knight to the 
, square marked A. Black 
' is compelled to take the 
knight v.'ith his castle. 
White then checks with 
his castle at square B. 
Black king takes the rook, 
and is check-mated by 
White moving his other 
rook to C. 




No. d. 

White undertahes to check-mate with the 
pawn, in four moves. 



>^ 



^vX 






To effect this. White's 
first move is the king to 
A. His second, the bishop 
to B. His third, the bishop 
to C. And on the fourth, 
he check-mates, by plac- 
ing the pawn on D. 
Black throughout having 
no choice, does . not 
require to have his moves 



ississiM specified. 



boys' OWif BOOK. 



161 



No. 4. 

While check-mates with his rook's pawn, 

in Jive moves. 




First. White cheeks with his rook on A ; he then moves 
the same jiiece to B. Next, check is given with the pawn 
on C. Again on D. And mate with the other pawn on E. 
No. 5. 
Whiie to mate with a pawn in six moves. 




White's first move is the knight to A. His second, check 
with the rook on B. His third with the same on C. Fourth- 
ly, he checks with the pawn on D. Fifthly, with the same 
pawn on E. And, on the next move, check-mate will be 
given by the other pawn. 



162 



boys' OWIS^ BOOK. 



No. 6. 

White will give check-mate in seven moves. 




With the right-hand 
knight "White checks on 
A. The other knight is 
next moved to B, and 
then "White checks on C. 
On the fourth move, the 
"White king plays to D. 
Check is given with the 
left hand pawn on E. 
Again with the same on 
F. And then the fatal 
check-mate must, of ne- 
cessity follow from the 
other pawn. ^ 



MOVING THE KNIGHT OVER ALL THE SQUAEES 
ALTERNATELY. 

The problem respecting the placing the knight on any 
given square, and moving him from that square to any house 
on the board, has not been thought unworthy the attention 
of the first mathematicians. Euler, Ozanam, De Montmart, 
De Moivre, De Majron, and others, have all given methods 
by which this feat might be accomplished. It was reserved 
however, for the present century to lay this down on a gen- 
eral plan ; and the only English writer who has noticed this, 
is Mr, George "Walker, in his "Treatise on Chess." The 
plan is this : — Let the knight be placed on any square, and 
move him from square to square on the principle of always 
playing him to that point, from which, in actual play, he 
would command the fewest other squares. Observing, that 
in reckoning the squares commanded by him, you must omit 
such as he has already covered. If, too, there are two 
squares, on both of which his powers would be equal, you 
may move him to either. Try this on the board with some 
counters or wafers, placing one on every square ; and, when 
you clearly understand it, you may astonish your friends by 



boys' own book. 



163 



inviting them to station the knight on any square they like, 
and engaging to play him, from that square, over the re- 
maining sixty-three in sixty-three moves. When the Auto- 
maton Chess-player was last exhibited in England, this was 
made part of the wonders he accomplished, though as the 
above plan was not then known here, he could not adopt it, 
but used some- 
thing like the 
method laid 
down by Euler, 
and which we 
subjoin. 

Our young 
Chess - player's 
instructor in the 
game will show 
him that as this 
is a re-entering 
series of num- 
bers, or inter- 
minable route, 
it does not mat- 
ter on which of 
the squares the 
knight is placed at starting; as, by acquiring the plan by 
heart, which is soon done, he can play him over all the 
squares from any given point, his last square being at the 
distance of a knight's move from his first. It is obvious 
that this route may be varied many ways, and we have of- 
ten amused ourselves by trying to work it on a slate. 




BULER B METHOD, 



164 



boys' owk book. 




DEAF AND DUMB ALPHABET. 

Though now grown old, she had a golden joy ; 
Her dim eye hrightened oft, to see her boy — 
Albeit by heaven deprived of speech and hearing — 

Throw by his homely toy, 
And tell his love in a manner so endearing 
Upon his nimble fingers, that she thought 
Him more endowed than those bereft of naught. 

The art of teaching those who are deaf and dumb a mode 
of comprehending whatever it may be desirous to convey to 
their minds, and of expressing their own wants and ideas to 
their more favored fellow* creatures, is one of the greatest 
triumphs that humanity can boast. 

It has the great advantage of being remarkably simple ; 
so that a mother, brother, sister, or school-fellow, by a little 
perseverance, may give the deaf and dumb youth the means 
of communicating his wishes on all occasions. Our limits 
will not allow us to enter into any details, beyond the ac- 
quirement of the Alphabet, to which we add an engraving, 
showing the position of the hands to express each letter. 

THE ALPHABET. 

A, E, I, 0, U. The vowels a, e, i, o, and u, are express- 
ed by touching with the fore-finger of the right hand, the 
thumb, or one of the fingers of the left, according to the let- 
ter required to be expressed. 



boys' owf book. 



165 



A is made by touching the top of the thiimb ; e, by touch- 
ing that of the fore-finger; i, by touching that of the middle 




finger; o, by touching that of the ring or fourth finger; and 
u, by touching that of the little finger. 

B. Join the fore-finger and thumb of each hand, and 
place the backs of the two fore-finger nails together. 



166 boys' o^visr book. 

C. Curre the fingers and thumb toT^ards each other, so 
as to resemble as much as possible the shape of the letter. 

D. Curve the fingers and thumb of the right hand, but 
not quite so much as for C, and place the tops of the fore- 
finger and thumb against the side of the fore-finger of the 
left hand, "which is to be kept straight. 

F. Place the fore-finger of one hand across the back of 
the first two fingers of the other. 

Q and J. Clench the hands, and place one fist upon the 
other. 

S. Draw the palm of one hand across the palm and fin- 
gers of the other, beginning near the ball of the thumb, and 
going along the hands to the tips of the fingers, precisely as 
if you were bmshing something off the i>alm of one hand 
with the other. 

K. Curve the fore-finger towards the thumb, and place 
the second joint of the fore-finger so curved against the back 
of the second joint of the fore-finger of the other hand. 

L. Lay the fore-finger of the right hand straight upon 
the palm of the left. 

M. Lay the three first fingers of the right hand upon the 
palm of the left. 

N. Lay the two first fingers of the right hand upon the 
palm of the left. 

P. Bend the thumb and fore-finger as for D, only make 
a lesser curve, and place the tops of the thumb and fore-fin- 
ger to the two first joints of the fore-finger of the other 
hand. 

Q. Place the tops of the fore-finger and thumb together ; 
curve the fore-finger of the other hand, and place it on the 
inside of the fore-finger and thumb, precisely where they 
touch each other. 

R. Curve the fore-finger of the right hand, and place it 
on the palm of the left. 

S. Curve the little fingers of each hand, and hitch them 
together. 

T. Place the top of the fore-finger of the right hand 



boys' owh book. 



1G7 



against the lower edge of the left hand, between the little 
finger and the wrist. 

V. This letter is made nearly as iV", with this difference 
only that for V, the two fore-fingers of the right hand are 
placed apart, upon the palm of the left, instead of close to- 
gether, as in the case for iV. 

W. Join the hands, with the fingers of one between those 
of the other. 

X. Cross the two fore-fingers at the second joint. 

T. Place the fore-finger of the right hand between the 
thumb and fore-finger of the left, which must both be ex- 
tended. 

Z. Raise one hand towards the face, and place the palm 
of the other under the elbow of the arm which is so elevated. 

It is usual to mark the conclusion of each word by snap- 
ping the middle finger and thumb of the right hand: this, 
it may readily be imagined, renders the dumb language 
much more intelligible. 

Numhers are counted by the fingers in the most simple 
way ; one finger held up, signifies 1 ; two fingers, 2 ; the open 
hand, 5 ; the two hands, 10, etc. 




168 



boys' OWN" BOOK. 




CROQUET. 

As a lawn game, in -which both sexes can equally join, 
Croquet is deservedly popular. It is not necessary to say 
anything as to the origin of Croquet, as it is probably only 
a modem adaptation of the old game of Pall Mall, which 
was a fashionable amusement in the days of Charles the 
Second, and which probably gave its name to the famous 
street of club-houses at the West-end of London. As to the 
person who re-introduced it or re-named it, nothing is known, 
and it seems waste of labor now to inquire. A good deal of 
ingenuity has been displayed by various writers, with but 
small result, as to the author of the modern game ; but 
whether it was invented without reference to the older 
game, or simply adapted, appears idle now to discuss. 
Suffice it that Croquet (pronounced krokay) made its appear- 
ance about a dozen years ago, and at once became fashion- 
able. 

As universally played. Croquet requires a level piece of 
turf or well rolled gravel, and a set of implements. These 



boys' own book. 169 

consist of eight mallets, eight wooden balls, ten iron hoops 
or arches, a wooden turning-peg, a starting-peg, and a clip 
or naarker for each player. The clips are not, however, in- 
dispensable, as the game can be played without them by 
all who are attentive to the last hoop through which the ball 
has been struck. 

Croquet is played by two or more persons, who endeavor 
to strike the wooden balls through the series of arches, or 
hoops, arranged on the ground according to some particular 
design. He who first succeeds in passing his ball through 
all the hoops in regular succession wins the game. 

But in order to fully acquaint my readers with the nature 
and peculiarities of this charming game, I must go some- 
what further into detail. 

Well, then, I suppose you to have purchased your set of 
Croquet implements ; the nest thing is to know how to play 
with them. You will see that the eight balls are variously 
colored ; generally thus : — 

1. Blue. 5. Brown. 

2. Pink. 6. Orange. 

3. Black. 7. Green. 

4. Yellow. 8. Red. 

The colors on the balls govern the order in which the players 
follow each other in the game. The mallets haVe usually 
rings of color to correspond with the balls. This also is to 
assist the players, and prevent confusion. The clips have 
likewise spots of color the same as the balls ; and the iron 
hoops are ordinarily painted white, for the better seeing of 
them in the dusk of evening. 

These preliminaries arranged, the players, when there are 
more than four, divide themselves into sides — say four on a 
side — and choose a captain for each side. They then place 
the hoops in the ground, according to some regular plan, 
with the starting-peg at one end and the turning-peg at the 
other. 



170 boys' owk book. 

In the Eglinton game a bell is suspended in the centre, 
from two hoops set crosswise; and a tunnel is set up on 
either side, instead of hoops. It is then necessary that the bell 
should be struck and rung by the ball before the centre cage 
can be fairly passed. 

We now come to the technical terms used in Croquet. 
The following terms and the rules are those agreed to by a 
committee of good players : — 

TEEMS USED IN CROQUET. 

In Ordeb. — The term in order signifies the sequence of 
hoops, sticks, cage, etc., as described in the various plans 
above. The arrangement must be decided on before the 
game begins. "Whichsoever plan is adopted, the game is 
won by the player or the side of players which first drives 
all the balls of its side in the right direction and in order, 
as arranged, up to the turning-stick, and back again until 
they touch the winning-stick. 

In Play, in Hand, Dead. — A ball is in play as soon as 
it has run the first hoop ; it continues in play till it makes 
a roquet, when it is in hand. A ball in hand must take 
croquet, and can score no point till it has done so. Having 
taken croquet, it is again in play ; but it continues in hand 
to the ball or balls it has croqueted for the remainder of its 
turn, unless it make another point. Having made another 
point, it is in play again to all the balls, as at the com- 
mencement of its turn. A ball is dead when it has run all 
its hoops in order, and has hit the winning-stick. 

A hall is wired when it cannot effect the stroke desired on 
account of the leg of a hoop (wire) intervening. 

EovEE. — A ball becomes a rover when it has in order 
passed the last hoop before the winning-stick. 

The Points of the game are (a) running a hoop ; or (i) a 
cage ; or (c) hitting a stick, each in order. 

(a) A hoop is run when a ball in play having passed 
through it in the right direction, in one or more strokes, and 
with or without hitting the hoop, a straight-edge applied 



boys' 0W2>r BOOK. 171 

behind the hoop does not touch the ball. Hoops accident- 
ally displaced from the perpendicular may be set upright at 
any time. 

(6) In testing the running of the cage, which may be run 
in any direction, the straight-edge (ex. gr., the handle of the 
mallet) is applied on the inner side of the two legs nearest the 
ball. 

(c) A stick is hit when seen to move, or an audible noise is 
produced by the blow. The stick may be put upright at any 
time if accidentally displaced. 

A player is not obliged to play for a point or roquet. 

He may, if he prefer it, place his ball where he likes, by 

a stroke of the mallet. 

A Roquet is made when a player with his own ball hits 

another, however slightly, both being in play. It gives the 

privilege of a croquet from the hit ball, which may be either 

tight, loose, or rolling, and entitles the player to another 

stroke. 

The Roquet can only be taken advantage of once in each 
turn from the same ball, unless another point is 
made. It follows that a second roquet, in one turn, 
without a point made in the interval, does not count ; 
but it may be made for any purpose, such as cannon- 
ing, driving away, etc., the player's turn ending there, 
unless by the same stroke he makes a point, or roquets 
another ball, which he has not roqueted before during 
the turn, and since making a point. 
A Tight Croquet is made by placing the ball of the player 
close to that roqueted ; then fixing his own ball with his 
foot, he strikes, driving the other ball away, but keeping his 
own under his foot. If the ball slip from under the foot, 
the stroke following the croquet is forfeited. 

A Loose Croquet may be made either {a) by placing the 
player's ball close to that roqueted, and striking the former 
in a line passing through the axis of each, in which plan 
the player's ball remains almost stationary, whUe the other 
flies forward, or (b) at any angle, so as to place the two in 



172 boys' own book. 

such opposite positions as may be desired, and hence called 
a "splitting croquet." Where it is wished (c) to make a 
loose croquet with as little disturbance as possible of the 
player's ball, it is often called taking "two turns off " it, but 
in that case the latter must be made to move, however 
slightly, to the satisfaction of the two captains or their 
umpire. 

A Rolling Croquet is effected by placing the two balls in 
the same way as in the loose croquet (a), but after the initial 
stroke is fairly made, the mallet follows the ball, and causes 
the two to roU nearly together to the positions aimed at. 

Spooning is a pushing stroke, causing no noise as of a tap 
to be heard. 

It is very difficult to define what separates the fair 
strokes from " the spoon." We believe the only way 
to avoid disputes on this score is to do away with any 
but the side stroke, and even with it, to forbid the 
approach of the hand nearer than eighteen inches to 
the head of the mallet, when spooning is almost im- 
possible. 
The following are the now generally accepted 

LAWS OF CROQUET. 

I. The rotation of play is to be decided by lot, and the 
captain gaining the toss takes either the dark or light 
balls, at his option, his opponent having the others, and 
each allotting the colors as he pleases. Blue then leads ofi", 
followed in rotation by the other colors, tUl his turn comes 
round again. 

II. The first stroke of each ball is made by placing it any- 
where not exceeding a mallet's length from the starting- 
stick, and striking it through the first hoop. If this point 
(see Definitions) be made, another stroke is allowed, but if 
it fail, the ball is taken ofE the ground till its nest turn 
comes round. 

III. After the first hoop is passed, the player of the ball 
running it can go on with his play so long as he succeeds 



boys' owk book. 173 

in either running a hoop or cage or hitting a stick, each in 
order, and with his ball in play, or makes a roquet on any 
ball in play. Having made roquet, he must take croquet 
before his next stroke. 

When the turn comes round, it is optional for the 
player to "place " his ball, or to commence by play- 
ing either for a roquet or a point. 

IV. If a player roquet a rover against the winning-stick, 
he cannot take croquet, as the other ball is dead, and he 
looses his nest stroke. 

V. A ball in play, driven through its proper hoop or cage, 
or hitting a stick in order, by any stroke, whether of the 
same side or that of its antagonist, counts that hoop, cage, 
or stick, even if it roll back through the hoop or cage ; but 
in the latter case the running must be established to the 
satisfaction of the two captains or their umpire. 

(a) If a ball, after roqueting another, and before taking 
its croquet, run a hoop, such ball is not entitled to the 
point, as it is then "in hand." 
(J) If a ball, while passing through a hoop, roquet an- 
other before the former is entirely through, the hoop 
does not count, and the croquet must be taken. This 
point constantly calls for the decision of the umpire, 
(c) A ball driven back through a hoop the reverse way 
to wliich it is going, " in order," and resting under it, 
is not entitled to run that hoop, if a straight-edge ap- 
plied in front of the hoop touch the ball. 
YI. All strokes must be given by the player standing on 
one side of his ball. Either one or both hands may be used, 
but the nearest hand to the head of the mallet must be 
eighteen inches at least from it, except when the player is 
under five feet in height, when half an inch may be allowed 
for each inch in stature below that standard. The handle 
must not be grasped between the arm and the body. 

VII. The side of the head of the maUet is not to be ap- 
plied to the ball in striking it under any circumstances; 
•and if so used, the stroke is forfeited, and any balls moved 



174 boys' owh book. 

are to be replaced to the satisfaction of the adverse captain. 
But either end of the head of the mallet may be used, what- 
ever be the difference of shape between them. 

VIII. If, when about to play, a player iind his ball touch- 
ing another, he may hit his own as hard or as soft as he 
likes, and then, being in hand to it, he may take a croquet 
off it. 

IX. A rover (see Definitions) has the right of roqueting 
and croqueting any baU (whether partner or antagonist) 
only once during each turn, and of taking another stroke 
subsequently to each in succession; but having passed all 
the hoops, it has no poiut allowed for running one. It is 
subject, on the other hand, to be roqueted or croqueted by any 
other ball in play. If this cause it to strike the winning- 
stick, the baU is out of the game, and must be removed from 
the ground. 

X. A ball struck beyond the limits of the ground must at 
once be replaced half a mallet's length within the edge, 
measured from the spot where it went off at right angles to 
the margin. 

XI. Every player, on being appealed to, shall declare 
which is his nest hoop in order ; and, on the other hand, 
before playing, every playei" may demand from the captain 
of the opposite side which is his proper hoop in order ; and 
should any dispute arise, it must be settled by the two cap- 
tains or their umpire. 

This is a game of skill, and does not depend upon 
memory. It is therefore far more agreeable to all 
parties that the trouble of remembering the score 
should be rendered as little burdensome as possible. 
Clips and indicators are sometimes used to denote the 
position of each ball, but in our opinion they are very 
troublesome, and do not answer so well as the above 
rule. 

XII. The penalties of the game are as f oUows : 

(a) If a player, in making a tight croquet, aUow his baU 
to slip from under his foot, he loses his next stroke. 



boys' owk book. 175 

(b) If in taking two turns off a ball, lie fail to move it, 
he loses his next stroke. 

(c) If any ball when in play and rolling is stopped or 
touched either by the hand, foot, dress, or mallet, or by any 
other substance held by its player, or one of his own side, 
the player of that ball ceases to play for that turn. But if 
either of the above acts is done by one of the side opposed 
to that of the striker, he may at his option, either take the 
stroke again, or the game may proceed with the ball, or 
baUs, left where it, or they, were stopped. 

(d) If, in striking at his own ball, the player, either 
before or after the blow is actually given, hit another with 
his mallet, he loses his present turn, and the ball im- 
properly hit is replaced to the satisfaction of the adverse 
captain. 

(e) If a ball, not being hit sufficiently hard, is hit a second 
time, the stroke is forfeited, the balls are to be replaced to 
the satisfaction of the adverse captain, and the player loses 
his turn. 

(/) If a player play out of his turn in rotation (see Law I), 
and the mistake is discovered before the next player has 
commenced, all benefit from any point or points so made is 
lost, and all balls hit are to be replaced, or left where they 
are struck, at the option of the adverse captain. But if the 
mistake is discovered after the next player has played his 
first stroke, the turn played in error must be allowed to 
stand. 

(g) If a player in his proper turn play with the wrong ball, 
or if he croquet a ball which he is not entitled to croquet, 
he loses aU benefit from that stroke ; the ball or balls are 
replaced, and the turn is lost. Should the error not be dis- 
covered till he has made a second stroke, the player 
proceeds as if no mistake had been committed. At the 
end of the turn the balls are to be transposed from one 
position to the other, and in their next turn the players of 
each proceed in the same rotation as if no mistake had 
occurred. 



176 



boys' ow:^ book. 



(h) If a ball is not fairly hit, but, in the opinion of the 
captains or their umpire, is pushed or " spooned," all benefit 
from that stroke is lost, the ball must be replaced to the 
satisfaction of the adverse captain, and the player loses his 
turn. 

(^) If, in taking aim, a ball is moved more than six inches 
it must be considered that the player has taken his stroke. 
But if the ball is moved less than six inches, the stroke may 
be taken again. 

PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS. 

Hold your mallet firmly, yet easily, and be certain that 
you hit your ball, always endeavoring, when possible, to 
run your hoop. Help your partners whenever you can, and 
puzzle your opponents whenever there is a chance. In 
making the croquet, place your toe well on your own ball, 
with your heel on the ground ; then strike your ball fairly, 
so as to cannon the other ball in the direction you wish it 
to take. It is important the rover should do all he can for 
his side. Always recoUect that in making a roquet it is 
only necessary to reach the ball : and when you want to 
run a hoop that is not in a direct line with your ball, play 
behind the hoop, at an angle, so as to allow you to run the 
hoop when your turn comes round again. Good temper, 
tact, and attention are the best assistants to the young 
Croquet player. 




boys' ow*r BOOK. 177 



LA CROSSE. 

La Crosse is a game very popular among the Indian 
tribes of North America, and but lately introduced into 
England. It is an adaptation, probably, of our own Hockey ; 
only, instead of the ball being hit away with a stick, it is 
caught up on a netted bat, and carried by the player. The 
game is sufficiently well explained in the following rules, 
which were drawn up by a committee of players, after con- 
sultation with a company of Indians brought over to Eng- 
land in the summer of 1867 : 

RULES OF LA CROSSE. 

I. that the "Crosse" may be of any length to suit the 
player, but the woven network must net be bagged, nor of 
a greater width than one foot. 

II. That the ball be of solid india-rubber, not more than 
seven nor less than six inches in circumference. It must be 
furnished by the challenging party. 

III. That, when practicable, the goals shall be placed at 
not more than 250, or less than 150 yards apart, and that 
the ground be not more than 100, nor less than sixty yards 
wide ; that the goals be upright posts seven feet apart, with 
a tape or bar across them, six feet from the ground. 

IV. That the game be started by a ball being placed on 
the ground opposite the centre flag between two players on 
opposite sides, who shall "tussel" for the ball. This is 
called "facing." 

V. When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown 
in by the player who first touches it with his crosse : when it 
goes behind goal without passing through goal, it shall be 
thrown out by one of the players on the side behind whose 
goal it has passed. 

VI. That the ball shall not be hit or kicked. 

VII. No player shall wear spiked soles. 

VIII. That the ball must not be caught, thrown, or picked 



178 



boys' OWN" LOOK. 



up with Ihe hand, except in the ease of Rule IX. ; but a ball 
coming in the air may be blocked or patted away with 
the hand to protect the face or body; otherwise it must not 
be touched. 

IX. Goal-keepers may stop tlie ball in any way. 

X. A goal is obtained when the ball is in any way what- 
ever caused by a player on either side to pass between the 
goal-post and under the bar or tape, except when kicked by 
one of the attacking side. 

XI. Players shall not hold each other, nor grasp an op- 
ponet's crosse ; neither shall they deliberately trip or strike 
each other. 

XII. After each game the players shall change goals, un- 
less otherwise agreed. 

XIII. A match shall be decided by a majority of goals 
won by either side during the time specified for play. 

XIV. Twelve players shall constitute a full field. 

XV. No change of players shall be made after a match 
has commenced, except by reason of accident or injury dur- 
ing the match. When a match has been agreed on, and one 
side is deficient in the number of players, their opponents, at 
their option, may either limit their own side to the same 
number, or select men to fill up the complement. 




BOYS OWiq" BOOK. 



179 




TEN-PINS. 

This game is the old English sport of Long Bowls. It is 
played in an alley from twenty to thirty yards in length. 
At the end opposite the starting-place, ten skittles are placed 
in the following way : 











sniiicient space being left between each pin to allow the ball 
to pass through. The skittles are usually set on a wooden 
floor, -with the place of each marked by a metal plate, and 
just behind is a trough, or lower floor, filled with saw-dust, 
into which the spent ball falls. It is the business of the 
player to bowl down the skittles in one or more throws — 
taking a fresh ball for each throw ; and he who succeeds in 
knocking them all down in the smallest number of bowls 
wins the game. Wooden balls of various sizes are used, the 



180 boys' ow:n" book. 

smallest being about the dimensions of a Dutch cheese. 
The ball must be roUed along the floor, and not thrown, 
jerked, or pitched, with any degree of swiftness desired. 
The fastest balls are not always the best, however, as they 
are likely to pass through the pins without doing much exe- 
cution. A boy, called the marker, sets up the fallen pins, calls 
out the number down, and returns the balls along a narrow 
trough, or groove, that runs sloping down the side of the 
alley. The game is marked in different ways : 6 points for 
a " floorer," which is when all the pins are overturned by a 
single bowl; 3 for an odd number of j)ins; 1 for each pin 
displaced, and so on, according to agreement. 

BLACKTHOEN. 

Blackthorn is a very good game, but rather apt to be de- 
structive to the clothes. A base is marked off at either 
end of the play-ground, leaving a space in the middle. One 
of the playei-s volunteers for, or is chosen, " Fox," and takes 
up his position in the middle between the two bases ; the rest 
run across from base to base, while he endeavore to catch 
and hold them. If he can hold one while he can count ten, 
it is considered a fair catch, and the prisoner becomes fox 
too, and assists in the capture of more — all of whom, as 
soon as caught, go to swell the number of foxes. Thus it 
will be seen that the game continually increases in life and 
interest up to the final capture, each capture making the 
passage across more hazardous. 

As a general rule, the worst runners and weakest players 
are caught first, and the better ones only succumb one by 
one, overwhelmed by niimbers. With so many enemies, 
speed alone must soon give in ; but speed and weight com- 
bined will often break through a whole crowd of opponents. 



BOYS OWN BOOK. 



181 




QUOITS. 

There is little to describe in this athletic game ; though it 
is very amusing nevertheless. It is played with iron rings 
or hollow discs, and the object of each player is to pitch his 
quoit as near as possible to the hob, v/hich is an iron pin set 
straight, in the ground ; and he who succeeds in getting 
nearest to the hob in a certain number of throws wins the 
game. An iron is set in the earth at each end of the selected 
ground, at a distance of eighteen, or twenty, or more yards, 
according to previous arrangement. The game then pro- 
ceeds as follows (I quote Strutt, whose "Sports and Pas- 
times" is the recognized authority on all old English 
games): — " Two or more persons, who are to contend for the 
victory, stand at one of the iron marks, and throw an equal 
number of quoits to the other, and the nearest of them to 
the hob are reckoned towards the game. But this is not 
always the case ; for instance, if a quoit belonging to A lie 
nearest to the hob, and a quoit belonging to B the second, 
A can claim but one toward the game, though all his other 
quoits lie nearer to the mark than all the other quoits of B, 



182 



BOYS OWN BOOK. 



because one quoit of B being the second nearest to the hob, 
cuts out, as it is called, all behind it; if no such cjuoit had 
interfered, then A would have reckoned all his quoits as 
one each. Having east all their quoits, the candidates walk 
to the opposite side, and determine the state of the play: 
then taking their stand there, they throw their c[uoits back 
again, and continue to do so alternately as long as the game 
remains undecided." 

■ PITCHING AT THE CORK. 

This game is also played with the quoit, generally at fairs, 
races, and such-like meetings. A cork is placed on the 
ground, and a small sum is put upon it, either a little piece 
of silver, a copper coin, or buttons. A line is drawn on the 
ground at a convenient distance from the cork, on which the 
players stand. Each player is provided with two quoits ; he 
who plays first throws one of his quoits as near to the cork 
as he can, and with his second he endeavors to hit the cork, 
and drive it away, in such a manner that tlie money or 
whatever else was on the toi^ of the cork, on falling to the 
ground, shall be nearer to the one or other of his quoits than 
to the cork. If he succeed, the stake belongs to him — if he 
do not, a second player throws his quoits, and endeavors to 
accomplish the feat in which his predecessor faUed. 




boys' owh book. 



183 







RIDING. 

This exercise renders the body flexible, and gives it grace 
and ease. It is best to accustom one's self to this exercise in 
youth, when the body bends itself more easily to all the 
movements required. The Joints have then a suppleness 
and energy which at a later time they lose, and consequent- 
ly one is able to execute better, and with less danger, the 
several exercises which come under the head of Equitation. 

It is as well to explain at first by what means man makes 
known to the horse which he mounts his wishes, and to force 
him to obey them. These means, which are called helps or 
aids in stable parlance, consist in the proper use by the rider 
of his legs, the spurs affixed to the heels of his boots, and 
of the bridle, the reins of which are attached to a hit, which 
is held in the mouth of the horse. The employment of these 
aids to horsemanship enables the rider to govern all the 
movements of the horse on which he rides. For instance, 
the rider wishing to pass from a standstill into motion, in- 
forms the horse of his wish by pressing him a little with his 
legs, and by progressively raising the hand which holds the 



184 boys' 0W2T BOOK. 

bridle. These two movements force the horse to raise his 
head, and putting his body in motion, he prepares to execute 
the order which has been transmitted to him. This is called 
gathering up your horse. In order to walk straight ahead, 
the rider lowers his hand, and consequently the reins cease 
to pull the bit in the mouth of the horse, which, finding 
himself not held back, naturally walks. On feeling himself 
pressed and diiven on by the knees and legs of the rider, 
which act simultaneously with the hand, he again moves 
quickly. But if, through not being well trained, or by ca- 
price, the horse misunderstands the rider, and refuses to ad- 
vance, then the legs of the rider are carried behind the girths, 
and he applies the spurs to the flanks of the animal, who, 
in order to relieve himself from the pain, hastens forward. 
If the ri4er wishes to pass from a walk into a trot, or from 
a trot into a gallop, the bridle is still more loosely held, 
which diminishes the pull of the bit in the horse's mouth, 
and by a sharp action of the spurs the rider informs his 
horse that he wishes to go at a quicker pace. If, on the con- 
trary, the rider wishes to lessen his speed or stop, he pulls 
in the reigns tightly toward him, and this movement causes 
the bit to pull at the horse's mouth ; and in order to escape 
from the pain, the animal slackens his speed, and stops 
altogether if the pressure on the bit continues. But, as in 
this movement, the horse can turn his body crosswise, the 
rider keeps his legs against the body of the horse, which, 
from fear of the spurs, does not dare to throw his legs out 
either to the right or left. If the rider wishes to turn to the 
right, he holds his hand on the side, which causes the bit to 
press harder on one side of the horse's moiith than on the 
other ; and he naturally gives way this side to escape the 
pain. He therefore turns his head in this direction, and 
the rider hastens his movements by applying the spur to 
this side. The left-turn, the half -turn, and the circle, etc., 
are executed by the employment of the same means, modified 
according to the requirements, there being always a perfect 
accord between the movements of the legs and those of the 



boys' own book. 



185 



hand. Lastly, the horse is backed by the rider pulling the 
reins toward himself hard, which causes a pressure of the 
bit on the mouth of the animal, and which therefore backs 
in an opposite direction to the action of the bit. 




Let us now see whether we cannot teach you how to ride. 
Pupils in horsemanship generally take their first lessons on 
quiet or rather old horses. After the amateur has mounted 
his horse, he is put on the road to perfect horsemanship. 
Usually there are several together, and a well-experienced 
horseman takes his place at the head of them, and the others 
have only to follow him, practising themselves in sitting their 
horses well, and the riding-master puts them right every time 
it is necessary. Af tei^ward, when the pupils have familiarized 
themselves with the posture, and have acquired a certain 
habit of riding their horses, each one of them becomes guide 
in his turn. All th6 first exercises are usually practised 
without stirrups, and with the aid of a snafiie-bridle, which 
is less painful than the ordinary bridle to the mouth of the 



186 boys' owk" book. 

horse. At his first essay, the pupil does not run the risJi of 
making his horse turn and back ; but holds his reins in a 
manner T^hich compels the horse to go forward, and at the 
same time keeps him firm in his seat on the animal's back. 
"When the young horseman has acquired some confidence on 
his horse, he can pass into a trot, and then into a gallop. 
Once arrived at the power of being able to easily guide his 
horse with his legs and hand, so as to make it go at all paces 
and to stop it, he is taught, as we have explained, the action 
of the bit and the reins, the manner of producing this action 
by the movement of the hand, the movements of the legs, 
and lastly, the accordance which there should be between 
the hand, the bridle, and the reins, between all the move- 
ments of the rider and his horse. 

The side of the horse from which the rider moimts and 
dismounts is generally the left, but it is as well to accustom 
one's self to mount and dismount on both sides, so as not to 
be embarrassed when unforeseen circumstances oblige you to 
mount or dismount on the right side. In order to mount a 
horse, seize the upper part of the reins with the right hand, 
raise them untU you feel the reins are pretty tight, then pass 
the little finger of the left hand between the two reins, the 
three other fingers on the right rein, and the thumb on the 
left; then lay hold as well as you are able, with the left 
hand, of the horse's mane, and in this position the left hand 
should be ready to check the horse, should he commence to 
start. Then raise the left knee, and put the left foot in the 
stirrup, put the right hand on the saddle, raise yourself up 
by a spring ■untU your right leg is on a level with your left, 
then pass the right leg over the saddle, and place the foot in 
the stirrup, drawing the right hand away from the saddle, 
Then separate the reins, — hold one in each hand, the upper 
part of each rein being held steady by the pressure of the 
thumb. This is the safest way for a beginner to hold the 
reins ; but he wUl gradually acquii'e the more masterly way of 
holding them, and which he will easily understand by notic- 
ing the way in which an experienced horseman holds them. 



boys' ow]sr BOOK. 187 




The rider should be seated perpendicularly on the saddle, 
the shoulders square, the head upright, without stiffness, the 
chest expanded, the hips firmly planted, the knees pressed 
against the saddle, the point of the foot being lower than 
the heel. 

DRIVING. 

"With regard to the harness necessary for various kinds of 
can-iage horses, little need be said; very slight acquaint- 
ance with a horse in harness will familiarize your mind 
with the bridle, blinkers, bit, reins, traces, crupper, girths, 
coUar, and pad. These are aU provided by the saddler, 
ready for use, and need no particidar description. But it is 
well that every driver should know how to put on the har- 
ness to a horse, as occasions may arise when a want of 
such knowledge is of great importance — as in a breakdown, 
for instance, when the proper adjustment of the several 
straps will enable you to do that for yotirself which your 
groom or stableman does before starting. 

It is not necessary, either, that 1 shotdd enlarge upon the 
various kinds of horses and carriages in common use upon 
the public roads ; sufficient if I show you how you may 
safely and easily drive a single horse in a wagon, and a pair 
in a phaeton or barouche. 



188 Boys' ow^q- book. 

DRIVma A SINGLE HOESE. 

We will suppose that you are driving a single horse. 
Mount easily into your seat, which is at the right-hand side 
of the Tehicle, and take the reins and whip in your hands. 
Place your feet firmly and easily on the footboard, and keep 
your legs straight, but not too stiff. Then give the horse 
his head, and encourage him by your voice, or a gentle 
fillip with the whip. Hold the reins rather tightly, and 
when you want the horse to turn to the 7'ight, pull the right 
rein ; when he has to go to the left, pull the left rein. Both 
hands will be brought into use, but for a quiet horse you 
will find that you will need but little whip ; and that one 
hand will be sufiicient for the reins. Avoid jerking your 
horse from side to side, and, when he is going easily, let him 
go at his own pace. A gentle hand will do more than 
violence or unnecessary exertion. 

In passing streets that lead into the main road, go slowly, 
and always keep a good look-out lefore you, without taking 
heed of what is behind. If anything in front causes you 
to slacken your pace, raise your whip, so that the driver of 
a vehicle behind you may have notice also to go less rapidly. 
Avoid aU sharp turnings, and remember the rule of the 
road — Tceep to the right. 

In stopping, accustom your horse to obey a slight pull of 
the reins, both together, aided hy your voice, which you will 
generally find as efficient as whip or rein. Do not allow 
your horse to canter or gallop ; a trot is the proper pace for 
a horse that pulls a load after him. Walk him up hill, and 
hold him well in hand in going down hill. Avoid too rapid 
a pace ; for though the temptation to drive fast is very great, 
fast driving is the cause of most road accidents, especially 
with young and inexperienced drivers. 

If your horse should show an inclination to ialTc — that is, 
to stand still and disobey the whip — let him stand for a 
while, and then gently encourage him with your Voice, or 
get some bystander to lead him gently by the head. If he 
holt, take the reins, crossed, short in your hands, and hold 



w boys' own book. 189 

them tightly, keeping your seat firmly, and at the same 
time saw the bit in the horse's mouth, by quickly pulling 
each rein alternately with a decided tug. The horse, even 
when he rans away, will generally obey the rein sufficiently 
to avoid obstacles. Do not be alarmed, but be prepared for 
emergencies. In a little while your steed will slacken his 
pace, when a sharp corrective with the whip will do him 
good, and teach him that you are master, not he. Horses 
are very knowing animals, and they soon discover the char- 
acter of their driver. If you are determined, they will sub- 
mit; if you are nervous, they will rebel. Either they or 
you must govern ; and if you have not the moral or physical 
power to control a young, spirited horse, do not attempt to 
drive it. Patience and decision are the grand arguments 
with a horse. Never over-drive him, and always see that he 
is properly fed. Do not be content with the assurance of 
the groom at an inn, that ' ' Your horse is all right, sir ; I'll 
see that he has his feed;" see to that yourself, and before 
you have your own dinner see that your horse has his com, 
and that he is carefully rubbed down with a dry cloth — not 
washed. The stable at home is the proper place for the 
washing operation. 

Ill-tempered horses must be coaxed and conquered. For 
such, a "ring bit "or a "post bit "is necessary sometimes. 
Remember that a dead pull is of little use with such horses. 
If the horse stumbles or falls, pull him up shortly, and give 
him a smart fillip with the whip. He wdl generally get up 
of himself. A horse that is apt to stumble must be kept 
well in hand, and also be kept active with whip and reins, 
so that he may know you are master. A hicTcing Jiorse 
should have a kicking strap ; and when he shows any inten- 
tion to indulge his propensity, give him a sharp reminder 
with the whip over the head and back. A shying horse 
must be coaxed and soothed — not whipped. An experienced 
driver will endeavor to encourage his horse by his voice 
and rein rather than with the whip. Horses are very much 
like men and women: it is esaier to lead than to drive them. 



190 



BOYS OWJf LOOK. 



DRIYING A PAIK. 

Now, strange as it may sound to amateur drivers, it is 
easier to drive a pair of horses than it is to properly drive 
one. Biit nerve and steadiness are absolutely requisite. 
The same general mles in driving, "with regard to your 
seat and the method of guiding them, apply to a pair of 
horses as to a single horse. But somewhat greater attention 
is required to keep them together. 




BOYS OWN booe;. 



191 




BOWING. 

ADVANTAGES OF ROWING. 

Among outdoor recreations conducive at once to the pro- 
motion of strength and enjoyment, rowing takes a foremost 
place. Few manly sports are more exhilarating, or more 
fitted to nerve and brace together every muscle and sinew 
of the body. To the chest and lungs the exercise is par- 
ticularly beneficial ; and youths who exhibit a tendency to 
contraction of the chest, or whose time is much occupied by 
sedentary studies, should be encouraged to make rowing a 
favorite amusement. With every stroke of the oar the 
organs of breathing, on which the health so greatly depends, 
are brought into fuller and freer play. The muscles of the 
arms and the sinews of the legs also receive a corresponding 
benefit ; and it is well known that the students at our public 
schools and colleges owe much of that strength and vigor 
for which they are generally remarkable, to their assiduous 
practice of this favorite recreation. 

Rowing has other advantages, as a sport, apart from its 



192 boys' own book. 

influence on the strength of the constitution, and its promo- 
tion of the development of a manly form. It can be fol- 
lowed by one, or by many together, with almost equal en- 
joyment. Boats of all sizes are provided on most of our 
canals, lakes, and rivers, in which parties of from two to 
eight friends can take this invigorating exercise together, or 
if the number be larger, can indulge in manly rivalry as to 
science, skUl, and strength, by pitting one boat's crew 
against another. In competitions of this kind only some- 
what skilled or experienced rowers should indulge, and I 
would earnestly recommend the learner never to attempt to 
take part in " a race " until he has acquired the command 
of his oar, and the habit of pulling a good steady stroke. 
Hasty, unsteady pulling at the outset of his career as an oars- 
man will go far to spoil his future "style," which is an 
object of great consideration to every practised hand. 

Rowing, as I have said, may be practised and enjoyed by 
the man or youth who has not immediately before him the 
opportunity of friendly companionship. But to take a boat 
single-handed requires some practice, and therefore should 
never be attempted by the learner at his first start. When, 
however, he has acquired sufficient experience to handle 
"a pair of sculls," and to manage a boat by himself, 
nothing can be more delightful than an occasional pull up 
or down some quiet stream ; if on a river, putting out the 
strength while rowing against the tide, or suffering the boat 
to glide along down the water, by the aid of little exertion 
from the oarsman, if the tide be in his favor. Thus health, 
strength, a taste for the beauties of nature — sky and land- 
scape, meadow and field— and that reflection and meditation 
in which it is good even for youth to occasionally indulge, 
may each be fostered and drawn forth by what all who have 
been initiated into it regard as a delightful sport. 

THE BOAT. 
Having said thus much in favor of rowing as an exercise, 
and the advantages peculiarly attached to it, we will pro- 



boys' OWIT BOOK. 193 

ceed to give the learner some description of the boat, and 
the technical names by which its several parts and append- 
ages are known. 

The boat in which it is advisable for the inexperienced 
rower to attempt to learn, and to which we shall therefore 
first direct his attention, is what is called the pair-oared 
hoat. This boat is, in its main features, like every other 
description of boat. 

The bow is the head of the boat. The sides here meet at 
a sharp angle, by which the boat is enabled with greater 
facility to cut through the water. The small points pro- 
jecting upwards from the sides of the boat, two on each side, 
are termed the row-locks. In these the oars are placed, and 
by means of them the rowers obtain the purchase necessary to 
enable them to propel the boat. They are formed of flat 
pieces of wood, generallji oak or ash, and the one nearest the 
rower, when he is seated in position with his oar in the rov,'- 
lock, is termed the thowl-pin, wliile the other is known by 
the name of the stopper. Against the thowl-pin the oar is 
pushed back and pulled, whUe the other, as its name im- 
plies, serves the purpose of staying the oar from slipping 
forward after the rower has made his stroke. To these two 
small pieces of wood the rower is thus principally indebted 
for his power of control over the motions of the boat. The 
seats for the rowers are called the "thwarts." They stretch 
across from side to side of the boat, a few inches below its 
edge, or, as it is technically termed, the wall. At the 
bottom of the boat, in front of the rower, a board is fixed, 
against which he places his feet. This board, called the 
"stretcher," is generally movable at will, according to the 
height of the person seated, or, to speak more clearly, ac- 
cording to the length of his legs. When properly adjusted, 
the foot-board is of considerable service in enabling him to 
keep his body in proper position, and, by the purchase given 
to his movements, assisting the power of his stroke. At the 
stern of the boat is a seat for the coxswain or steersman, 
who holds the lines of the rudder in his hands ; although, 



194 boys' owi-r book. 

•when two rowers of any experience are engaged, it is by no 
means necessary that any one should steer, provided that 
the oarsmen keep sufficient look-out occasionally to see 
where they are going. As the position of the rowers is nec- 
essarily with their backs to the head of the boat, it is of 
advantage to learners when they can obtain some one to 
steer for them, and thus give their whole attention to their 
stroke, leaving the guidance of the boat in the steersman's 
hands. The end of the boat is called the stern, and here is 
placed the rudder, which, when one person is steering, 
directs by its movements the course of the boat. He takes 
one of the lines attached to the rudder in each hand, and by 
pulling either the left or the right line, a corresponding 
turn is given the boat. When no one steers, the course is 
guided or changed at will by pulling either one or other of 
the oars alone, according to the direction in which it is 
desired to proceed. If it be necessary to turn the boat com- 
pletely round, one of the oarsmen puts his oar into position 
to "backwater," while the other pulls in the usual way. 
' ' Backing water " will be explained when we come to our 
directions for rowing. 

SCULLS AND OAKS. 

It is now necessary that I should give some description 
of the instruments used in propelling the boat. These are 
either oars or sculls. Sculls are a small description of oar, 
and are intended to be pulled with one hand only, the rower 
taking a pair, one in each hand. But in learning it is ad- 
visable to commence with a single scull, which is lighter, 
and therefore more easily managed than the oar. After a 
little practice with the scull, the beginner will be able to 
manage the oar with ease. The oar consists of three parts, 
which are known as the handle, the loom, and the blade. 
The handle is rounded, and is long enough to be grasped 
by both hands. The loom is square, and extends from the 
handle to what is called the button of the oar. The button 
is a piece of leather fixed on the oar at the distance of about 



boys' OWN" BOOK. 



195 



one third of its length, and rests against the thowl-pin when 
the oar is placed in the row-lock. Its object is to keep the 
oar as nearly as possible in one position in the row-lock, and 
prevent its slipping through. At the point of the oar where 
the button is fixed commences the blade, which is long and 
broad, thick at the commencement near the handle, and be- 
coming thinner toward the end. 

DIRECTIONS FOR SCULLING. 
In commencing the practice of boating, I have already 
recommended the learner to begin by the use of a single 
scuU, — ^two persons sculling at the same time — deferring the 




PAIR- OARED OTJTKIGGED GIG. 



attempt to manage an oar until he has had some little ex- 
perience with the lighter instrument. The boat chosen 
should be a pair-oared boat, of moderate size — neither so 
heavy as to be unmanageable by inexperienced hands, nor so 
light as to involve the danger of being upset. The begin- 
ner, having seated himself, and adjusted the footboard, or 
"stretcher," at the distance most convenient, placing his 
feet firmly against it, should take the scull by the handle, 



196 BOYS* OWK BOOK. 

and place it in the row-lock, with the button resting against 
the thowl-pin. The hand farthest from the side of the boat 
over which the scull is passed should be placed upon tlis 
handle near the end, gnxsping it firmlj'. The thumb should 
be kept, witli the iingers, above the handle of the scidl. 
The other hand shoidd grasp the scull a little lower doM-n, 
but Avith a somewhat more free and relaxed hold, as with 
this hand the movement called '* feathering " is performed. 
The arms should now be thrust forward in straight position, 
and the body then bent in the same direction, though with- 
out assuming an ungraceful stoop. If the hands be now 
raised, the blade of the scuU will di'op into the water, which 
should be done without splashing, and only so far that the 
water may cover the blade. Nothing is gained by tlipping 
the seull or oar in to a great depth ; on the contrary, the 
rower's toil is increased, while the speed of the boat is not 
accelerated, and the learner is far more likely to ''catch a 
crab." This term is used when the rower loses command 
over his oar or scull, and cannot draw it through the water, 
in which ease he should immediately throw the oar forward, 
out of the row-lock by lifting it over the stopper. " Catch- 
ing a crab " is sometimes sufficient to upset a boat, if it 
happen to be a very light one, or outrigged. 

Having dipped the scull into the water in the way de- 
scribed, the body is brought back till it becomes upright 
again, the hands following it. This motion has the effect of 
impelling the scidl through the water, and in its passage the 
blade should be kept at the same depth as when first dipped. 
Just before briuguig the seull or oar out of the water, a turn 
of the wrists shoidd be giA'en to the hand neai'est the blade, 
the knuckles being brought toward the chest. This move- 
ment is called *' feathering," and has the effect of bringing 
the oar cleanly out, the water glancing from the blade. The 
original position should then be resumed, the arms and the 
body thrown forward again, and so with every stroke. The 
learner should not attempt, at the outset of his boating ex- 
perience, to take his strokes quickly, but i-ather endeavor to 



BOYS' OWX BOOK. 



19? 



acquire the habit of making a long and steady pulL After 
practising a little with the scull, the learner will be able to 
manage an oar with ease ; and he may next proceed to take 
a pair of sculls. In pulling a pair, the movements are of 
course effected in the same way as with one; but one hand 
should be kept sliglitly above the other, that they may not 
be knocked together. 

SCULLING WITH A PAIR OF SCULLS. 

Enter the boat carefully, and take your place amidships 
in such a way as not to throw the boat out of balance. Then 
sit with ease, with your feet well jjlanted on the stretcher, 
which should not be sfj far from the seat as to fully extend 
your legs. You can move the stretcher nearer or farther at 
pleasure. Then take the sculLs — I am supposing that you 
are alone in a good, wide, and rather heavy boat — and grasp 




BEGINNING OF THE PULL. 



them fairly by the handles. At the beginning of the pull 
bend the body till your head is well over your knees, and 
extend your arms as far as you can, that the blades of the 
sculLs may be thrown correspondingly backward. With the 
sculls well dipped, pull toward you by at once bending the 
body and arms. 



198 



boys' owk book. 



When in the middle of the pull, if the seuUs are net short 
enough, or even if the head and body are slightly turned, 
one of the ends will go rather higher than the other — the 
right usually above. To obviate this inconvenience, before 
pulling a stroke, move your seat an inch or two to the right 
or left, without removing your feet from the centre of the 
stretcher. This will give you a slightly oblique position, and 
allow the hands to work clear of each other. 

The end of the pull must not take place till the elbows 
have just come to the top of the hips ; when the hands will 
be brought toward the chest, and the body well thrown back. 
But if you bring your hands too near your chest you wUl 
lose power. As the water is freed from the sculls the elbows 
sink, the wrists are bent up, and the backs of the hands are 
turned toward the fore-arms. If you properly perform this 
simple but apparently complex movement, you wUl properly 
feather your sculls; that is, turn them in such a way as to 
gain the greatest power when pulling, and offer the least 
resistance to the water when releasing them for the return 
stroke. 

-^ — ^31(^S##2' 




END OP THE PULIi. 



In the return of the seulls the hands must remain turned 
up until the sculls are turned out of the water. In the mid- 
dle of the return, if the sculls are not short, or if the head 



boys' owk book. 199 

and body be turned, one of the hands goes higher than the 
other. As to the degree of the immersion of the sculls, in the 
middle of the pull the blades must be covered by the water. 
The beginner generally dips them too deeply ; but that 
ought to be avoided, especially in calm weather. In the 
"whole of the return, the tops of the scidls should, in calm 
weather, be two or three inches above the water; and in 
rough weather they should be higher, in order to clear it. 
The head shoidd be well balanced and pliant, so that you 
may turn it easily with the direction of the boat. 

Young boatmen should begin with a boat large enough to 
hold two, so that when one is tired the other may take the 
sculls. Do not be afraid of a little stiffness in the arms and 
legs ; you wiU soon get over that. 

Now about feathering the oars. This operation is per- 
formed at the finish of the stroke, by turning the oar as it 
leaves the water. While in action, the whole width of the 
blade is opposed to the water, one edge to the sky and the 
other to the bottom ; but as you raise the oar from the water 
you reverse the position of the oar, so that the hollow part 
of the blade is uppermost. In making the next stroke, how- 
ever, you again turn the scull so that it dips edgewise in 
the water. This is not so easy to describe as to do; but 
when you have once done it, you can do it always. Feather- 
ing is the very acme and perfection of good and graceful 
sculling. Be careful, however, not to raise the scull too high 
out of the water, or you will not be able to make a good 
stroke next time. A little practice — say a couple of hours 
daily — will soon accustom you to the proper position and 
action of this stroke. 

BACKING WATER-SHIPPING SCULLS. 

" Backing water " is performed by making with the scull or 
oar a movement exactly the opposite of that just described. 
It is necessary to perforyi this movement when it is desired 
to turn the boat, or prevent its head veering too much to 



200 



boys' owk book. 



either side. The rower places the oar or scull in the row- 
lock against the stopper instead of against the 'thowl-pin, 
and throws the blade before him prior to dipping it into the 
water, bringing the handle close to the chest. When the 
oar is dipped, he pushes his hands forward again, until the 
oar is stopped by the thowl-pin, when the movement called 
" backing " is performed. To "hold water," when it is de- 
sired that the boat shall remain stationary, the oar is dipped 
in the same manner as when it is intended to " back," but 
no motion is made with the hands. 

"Shipping the sculls" is performed when the rowers 
have come to the end of their journey, or when another boat 
is passing so closely that the sculls of the two boats may 
clash. It is done by lifting the scull or oar out of the row- 
lock in the manner we have described when speaking of 
" crab-catching," and suffering it to lay by the side of the 
boat. By throwing the handle back, it may then be readily 
brought into the boat, or, as it is termed, "shipped." 

Remember that, however clear these directions may seem, 
they will be far more readily understood, and the learner 
will himself be enabled to carry them out more completely, 
if he will watch the motions of an experienced waterman or 
amateur oarsman, before taking a scull in hand. 




boys' OWif BOOK. 



201 




CHECKERS OR DRAUGHTS. 



INTRODUCTOEY. 

Checkers is a good game, though certainly inferior in 
variety and complication of moves to Chess. It was first 
played in Europe, we are told, about the middle of the 
seventeenth century, since which time it has received many 
illustrations at the hands of various writers, and afforded 
rational amusement to hundreds of persons of all ages and 
both sexes. UnKke Chess, it has not been much altered or 
improved during the course of years ; and what it was when 
its rules were first printed by Mallet, the mathematician, in 
1668, it remains to this day — ^better liked and universally 
understood, but stUl the same. It is played by the people 
of various countries, and in various languages is known as 
the Game of Ladies. 

THE GAME. 
Checkers or Draughts is played on an ordinary chess- 
board, with twenty-four men, twelve on each side. The 
men move and take on the diagonals, moving one square at 
a time, and taking by jumping or passing over the adverse 
man to a vacant square beyond; and not, as in Chess, tak- 
ing the place of the captured piece. 



203 boys' OWN" BOOK. 

The men usually occupy the white squares, with the 
board so placed as to hare the double corner at the right 
hand of the player. The pieces moYC forivard ia the direc- 
tion on the diagonals, and the game is continued by each 
player moving alternately one square at a time. When a 
piece reaches the last row of squares on his opponent's side 
of the board, he becomes a Mng, and is crowned by having 
another piece of the same color placed on his head. The 
king can move iackicard and forivard diagonally on the 
white squares, and both kings and pieces can take any 
number of their opponents that may lie in their way un- 
protected; that is to say, if after taking one man there 
should be any other piece in the same diagonal, or in any 
adjoining diagonals, with an empty square beyond, the 
player continues his march, and captures as many as he 
can. The game is won by capturing your adversary's men, 
or by blockading him in such a way as to prevent him from 
moving. When each player is left with a single king, or 
two kings, the game is usiially drawn ; but situations arise 
occasionally in which an inferior number of pieces can com- 
mand superior force. 

EULES OF THE GAME. 

I. The board is to be so placed as to have the white 
double corner at the right hand of the player. 

[All the printed games are given on this plan of placing the board. It 
is iisual to play on the white squares, hut not mijierative.l 

II. The first move is to be taken by chance or agreement, 
and in all subsequent games the move is taken alternately 
by each player, whether the last game be won or drawn. 

[Black generally moves first.] 

III. Any action which prevents your adversary from hav- 
ing a full view of the board is not allowed, and if persisted 
in, loses the game to the offending player. 

rv. The man touched must be moved, but the men may 



boys' owk book. 203 

be properly adjusted during any part of the game. After 
they are so placed, if either player, when it is his tuYn to 
play, touch a man, he must move it. If a man be so 
moved as to be visible on the angle separating the squares, 
the player so touching the man must move it to the square 
indicated. 

[By this it is meant that a player may not move first to one square 
and then to another. Once moved on to the square, the man must 
remain there.] 

V. It is optional with the player either to allow his oppo- 
nent to stand the huff, or to compel him to take the offered 
piece. 

["Standing the hufE " is when a player refuses to take an offered 
piece, but either intentionally or accidentally makes another move. 
His adversary then removes the man that should have taken the piece, 
and makes his own move — huffs and moves as it is called.] 

VI. Ten minutes is the longest time allowed to consider 
a move, which if not made within that time, forfeits the 
game. 

VII. It is compidsory upon the player to take all the 
pieces he can legally take by the same series of moves. On 
making a king, however, the latter remains on his square 
till a move has been made on the other side. 

VIII. AU disputes are to be decided by the majority of the 
bystanders present. 

IX. No player may leave the room without the consent of 
his adversary, or he forfeits the game. 

X. A false move must be remedied as soon as it is discov- 
ered, or the maker of such move loses the game. 

XI. When only a small number of men remain toward 
the end of the game, the possessor of the lesser number may 
call on his opponent to win in at least fifty moves, or de- 
clare the game drawn. With two kings to one, the game 
must be won in at most twenty moves. 

XII. The player who refuses to abide by the rules loses 
the game. 



204 boys' own book. 

The few remarks which we are about to make, as to one 
circumstance in draughts, could not, we conceive, be so 
aptly introduced anywhere else as here ; we allude to the 
importance of having the move upon an antagonist. The 
value of this will, no doubt, have frequently occurred to the 
reader ; but there are situations when it is not only useless, 
but detrimental. To have the move when your men are 
in a proper position, upon an open board, will often, in a 
short time, give you the power of forcing your adversary 
into such a situation as will render his defeat certain ; but, 
having the move, when your men are huddled in confu- 
sion together, and you are unprepared to point an attack 
from any quarter, that is to say, when you are strong in 
number but powerless in position, will not unfrequently 
cause you to lose the game. 

In order to know whether any one of your men have the 
move over one of your adversary's, you must carefully notice 
their respective positions, and, if your opponent have a black 
square on your right angle under his man, you have the 
move upon him. This is a general rule, and will apply to 
any number of pieces. A modern writer on this subject 
gives another method of ascertaining whether a party, 
whose turn it is to play, has the move ; namely, by count- 
ing the squares and the men ; and if the squares be odd 
and the men even, or the men odd and the squares even, 
then the party whose turn it is to play has possession of 
the move, and may certainly win the game, if he act judi- 
ciously. 



j 

I 



boys' 0"VVI<r BOOK. 



205 




YACHTING AND SAILING. 



THE BOAT. 

Pleasure-boats are generally known as cutters, yachts, 
yawls, luggers, or schooners. They are made of various 
sizes, and are rigged in various ways. But, that you 
should make no mistake in the names of the vessels you see, 
I will briefly describe their several characteristics. 

A ship, properly so called, has three masts — the foremast, 
nearest the stem ; the mainmast, in the center ; and the 
mizzenmast toward the stern. Each of these masts is fur- 
nished with yardarms, to carry square sails ; and each mast 
is divided into three parts — the mast, the topmast, and the 
top-gallantmast ; which parts, again, take the names of the 



206 boys' OWif BOOK. 

particular mast to "which they belong — as the foremast, the 
fore-topmast, and the fore-top-gallantmast, the mainmast, 
the main-topmast, etc. The yardarms, which stretch across 
the masts, are also named after the masts on which they are 
placed. The body of the ship is called the hull, the after- 
part of which is the stern, and the fore-part the hows. The 
lowsprit projects from the bows, and the rudder hangs on 
the stern. Every ship has one deeh or more, according to 
its size ; a Tceel, which runs underneath the structure from 
stem to stem ; an anchor, with chains attached ; a .windlass, 
round which the cable is wound ; ladders, rigging, etc. 
The bowsprit is divided into several parts. The spar at- 
tached to it is the jibhoom ; the two pieces hanging down- 
ward are the martingale, which serves as a stay to the 
jibboom; and the little yard across it is called the spritsail- 
yard. The sails between the bowsprit and the foremast are 
called y*5s ; and the ropes by which the seamen go aloft are 
known as the standing rigging. They are named after the 
mast to which they are attached, as the fore-rigging, the 
main-rigging, and the mizzen-rigging. The long flags which 
fly from the mastheads are called pennants, and the wide 
flags ensigns. 

A hark is a three-masted vessel, with the mizzenmast 
rigged schooner fashion, with fore and aft topsails. A 
schooner is a two-masted vessel, with fore and aft sails. 
Sometimes she is rigged with a square sail and top-gaUant- 
sail. A brig is a two-masted vessel, rigged with square sails, 
A hrigantine is a sort of cross between a brig and a schooner. 
After which comes a large variety of smaller craft, known 
as the Dutch galliot, the bUlyboy, the smack, etc. 

Most yachts partake more or less of the character of the 
sloop or fishing-boat. A thoroughly good yacht should be 
handsome in form, sufficiently broad to carry her canvas 
easily, and a good sailer. 

Next we have a view of a pleasure-boat, running before a 
light breeze, with all her sails set. 

When at anchor it is usual for a yacht of this kind to 



BOYS OWiq" BOOK. 



^07 




FLEASUEE-BOAT IN TULL SAIL (END VTEW). 

1. The gafE-topsail. 2. The foresail. 3. The mainsail. 4. Tack 
tricing-line. 5. Peak-line, or signal halyards. 6, 7, 8. First, se- 
cond, and third reefs. 9, 9, 9. Reef earings. 10, 10, 10. Cringles. 
11. Balance reef. 12. Anchor stock. 13. Windlass. 14. Fore- 
sheet horse. 15. Main hatch. 16. Companion and binnacle. 



have two anchors, one in tlie water, and the other hanging 
at the bow. 

Now that yoTi know of what parts the yacht consists, the 
next thing to learn is how to manage your vessel. This is 
of course a matter that can really be acquired only by prac- 
tice ; but a few hints will suffice as a beginning. 

Briefly, then, sailing is by no means so difficult an art as 
some imagine. Remember, however, that the mainsheet is 



208 boys' 0W2<r BOOK. 

not a sail, but the rope by which the mainsail is controlled, 
after it is hoisted up and set. The mainsheet is that rope 
which is made fast at the outer end of the sail or of the 
boom. By it the sail may be hauled in-board, and setflat; 
by easing of the mainsheet the sail is freed from control, 
and allowed to swell out to the breeze. 

Tlie foresheet is the rope which is employed to control 
the foresail, after it is run and fairly set. The foresheet is 
fastened to the aft-clew of the saU, and just as it is hauled 
taut (tight), or eased off (loosened), so the sail itself is 
managed. 

Every one who ventures on the water in an open sailing 
boat, says a competent writer, shoidd be given strictly to 
understand that the most important rope, and that on which 
the safety of the boat and its crew depends, is the mainsheet. 
Next in importance is the foresheet ; and if the vessel carries 
two head-sails, the jibsheets. 

Every rope belonging to the working of the sails should 
be laid in a separate coil, so as to be ready at the instant of 
emergency. But it is especially important that the main- 
sheet should never be made fast, except in the most slight 
and simple manner. Care must be taken that it never be- 
comes entangled, or in any way hidden from view, covered, 
or obstructed, whether the vessel is going before the wind, 
reaching, or tacking. In nine cases out of ten, the reason 
why boats are capsized is, that the man in charge of the 
mainsheet fails — from fright, confusion or inattention — to 
slacken or tighten it at the right moment, or that the coil 
becomes entangled or twisted round something on deck. 

The steersman has charge of the rudder, and to him and 
the mainmast the proper sailing of the boat is confided. In 
ordinary yachting — such, I mean, as that in which you will 
take your first lessons — the boat keeps in sight of land, so 
that the steersman guides it by reference to the points on 
the land, and various objects at sea. To steer by means of 
the mariner's compass is an art which needs fuller explana- 
tion than we can here afford to give, and actual teaching at 



boys' own book. 209 

the hands of a practical seaman. It involves, indeed, a 
knowledge more or less of the art of navigation ; which 
knowledge includes, among others, the acquisition of the 
science of mathematics, with logarithms, etc. Just now, 
however, we need not enlarge upon that branch of the 
yachtsman's duties. 

The steersman should be careful to keep the head of the 
boat to the point toward which he intends to go, and move 
the tUler to the right or the left, according to the state of the 
wind, always avoiding the error of putting the helm about 
too quickly, or bringing the boat too sharply round. The 
shifting of the boat's course should be made by a gradual, 
firm and steady management of the tiller ; and by this 
means you will not lose ground, or cause the progress of the 
vessel to be impeded. 

VARIOUS STYLES OF YACHTS. 

I now proceed to show you the rig of the several varieties 
of pleasure-boats in ordinary use on our coasts. 

The Cutter Yacht is a single-masted yacht with four sails 
— mainsail, main-topsail, foresail, and jib. Small boats have 
sometimes large jibs ^nd no foresail. The model yacht of 
our time has been copied from the celebrated America, 
which, a few years since, was sent to contend in the regatta 
against the best English yachts. 

The Dandy-iHgged Cutter, with jigger, is a favorite with 
most yachtsmen. It has no boom to the mainsail, which 
can therefore be braUed up to a rope passing round it. The 
jigger is on a small mast at the stem, over which the sail 
projects. This is a safe style of rig, and a quick saUer. 
The sail is more quickly taken in by braUing it up than by 
lowering it down. 

The Spritsail and the Lugsail. — These are boats with 
each a single saU. They are fast and handy to use. The 
Lugsail has a portion of the sail before the mast, which 
causes it to come round quickly in tacking. The Spritsail 
has the canvas abaft, and is therefore less easy to pull round. 
14 



310 



boys' OWN" BOOK. 

L 




Of the two, the lugsail is to be preferred, as you have more 
power over the boat than with the spritsail ; though the 
canvas in the latter is flat to the wind. 

The Schooner has two masts, with fore and aft sails, and 
sometimes a third sail, a jigger, raised on a spar at the 
stern. 

Cutter-rig, with Boom Mainsail. — A yacht with this form 
of rig is generally understood to be a good sailer. It stands 
close to the wind, but it requires care in its management, or 
the weight of the boom will be likely to cause a capsize. 
The safer and more pretty rig is the Dandy-rig, or Ketch, 
in which you have the advantage of the heavy boom with- 
out its risk. 

Mainsail and Foresail. — This rig is particularly handy 
when the boat is tolerably large and broad on her beam. 
The advantages of the triangular mainsail and foresail rig 
are acknowledged by all yachtsmen. The foresail should be 
carried a foot beyond the stem, by means of a short iron 
bowsprit, made to ship and unship at pleasure. The main- 
sail has a spar reaching from the lower part of the mast to 
the upper corner of the canvas. A rope is fastened to the 



boys' own book. 



211 



center of this spar, and passes through a block on the mast, 
by which means the sail is hoisted. This is a safe rig, as 
the boat goes well to windward and is easily brought about. 
Should a squall catch you, all you hare to do is to let fly the 




foresheet and put your helm a-lee, when ycur boat will right 
itself du'ectly. 

The Balloon Foresail. — This style of rig is much used by 




BALLOON FOEESAIL. 

smugglers and boatmen ; but for yachting purposes it is a 
rig to be avoided. The great foresail has a tendency to 



212 boys' OWN" BOOK. 

press the boat down in the water, and consequently you are 
nearly always wet. But the rig has great driving power; 
though for a pleasure-boat it is decidedly inferior to those 
already mentioned. 

We now come to the practical instruction for the manage- 
ment of the yacht. 

PRACTICAL ADYICE. 

The first thing you have to do, when on board your pleasure- 
boat, is to get under weigh, that is, to sail from the harbor 
or starting-place. How are you to manage this ? The 
ordinary directions given by yachtsmen and seamen would 
be something like this: "Ship the tiller; set the mainsail; 
hoist the throat nearly close up, and half hoist the peak. 
Bend and haul the jib out of the bowsprit end ; bowse the 
bobstay and bowsprit weU taut. Hoist the jib, and bowse it 
well up. Get the topmast stay, backstays, and rigging well 
taut. Hoist the foresail ready to cast her when her moor- 
ings are let go. Send a hand to the helm; overhaul the 
mainsheet and the lee runner and tackle ; lower the throat, 
and hoist the peak of the mainsail taut up. Hoist the gaff- 
topsail, keeping the tack to windward of the peak halyards ; 
and haul the slack of the sheet out before you hoist the sail 
taut up. Set the tack, and heave the sheet weU taut." 

Now, do you think you could follow these directions? I 
fancy you would be somewhat nonplussed to translate the 
various nautical terms into colloquial English. Therefore, 
your best plan will be to make yourselves acquainted with 
the principal phrases in use on board a yacht. You wiU. not 
find it necessary to master all the puzzling phraseology in 
which the Dick Fids and Tom Taffrails of naval novelists 
indulge; but there is quite enough to puzzle a landsman, 
unless he familiarizes himself with a few necessary peculi- 
arities of the language of the sea. 

When we say a vessel is close-hauled, or on the wind, or 
plying to windward, we mean that she is steering close to 
the wmd. Cutters are said to have good way when they are 



boys' owi^ book. 213 

within five points of the wind ; square-rigged vessels must 
be within six points. A vessel is said to be sailing hefore 
the wind when the wind is fairly at your back (aft). Her 
head is then sixteen points from the wind. 

THE YACHT AT SEA. 

Every trade and profession has its slcmg. I do not em- 
ploy the word in its mere dictionary form, as meaning 
"phrases used by the low, the vulgar, and the ignorant;" 
but as expressing the fact that the law, the army, the count- 
ing-house, the manufactory, and the shop, have each and all 
their well-imderstood and accepted technicalities. To be a 
barrister or a solicitor, a soldier or a merchant, a manufac- 
turer or a trader, it will be necessary to familiarize yourself 
with the language peculiar to each calling. So also with 
boating and sailing. To become a yachtsman you must not 
be ignorant of the slang of the sea. 

Setting Sail. — As already explained, your first task is to 
hook on the bobstay, and bowse down the end of the bow- 
sprit. Then you must cast oif the lashings which held the 
mainsail furled ; look to the foresail and jib, that they are 
ready to be hoisted, and see that the mainsheet is clear of 
obstructions. Before you set the headsails you must set the 
mainsails, and haul out the Jib on the bowsprit ; but do not 
hoist it until the mainsail is set, and her moorings slipped. 
The boat should never be loosed from her moorings till the 
mainsail is fairly set, and the anchor weighed — ^that is, raised 
from the water, and made fast to the side of the boat. Eun 
up the foresail directly the vessel is free. The boat's head 
will be canted or brought round by hauling the foresheet 
a-weather. When fairly under way, run up the jib, being 
careful that the jibsheets (or ropes) are clearly and properly 
trimmed. Then having got your main fairly up, haul up 
the peak. If there are many craft near you, so as to leave 
but little room for turning, you must drop or lower the 
peak, and set the headsails. Then, by hauling the foresheet 
a-weather, you can turn the boat in a very little more space 
than its own length. 



214 



boys' own book. 



Reefing Sails. — Caution and expedition are necessary in 
this operation. The boat must be luffed close to the wind, 
or laid to ; but not sufficient to allow her to come about. 
Base off the jibsheet, and haul the foresail a-weather. Then 
haul in the mainsheet as taut as you can, and the boat will 
be laid to. Then you drop the peak and main sufficient for 




YACHT WITH A BREEZE ON THE LARBOARD TACK — ALL 

SAILS SET, 



the reef you require. Cast off the main tack, and take 
down a reef, securing it by the reef-earings to the boom. 
Then tie up by reef-knots all the points along the lower part 
of the sail. You can then set up the peak and main ; ease 
off the sheets, and haul down the main tack. The boat is 
then under a reefed mainsail. If you require to take in a 
second or third reef, proceed in the same way ; but be care- 
ful never to tie a second or third reef till the first is tho- 
roughly secured. Look well to your reef tackle, and see aU 
sound and taut. It is seldom necessary to reef sails in 
smooth seas and light breezes, but it is imperative when 
the wind is strong and the sea heavy. 



boys' own book. 215 

We now come to consider another and very pleasant part 
of the yachtsman's duties; namely: 

Sailing to Windward. — The boat that sails fastest and 
nearest to windward is invariably the winner of matches, 
but is not necessarily the best sea-boat. Much of the suc- 
cess achieved by a yacht, however, is due to the manner in 
which it is managed ; to a careful attention to the trim of 
the sheets and the adjustment of her sails. In sailing to 
windward — that is, in beating against the wind — the sails 
should be set as flat as possible, so that they may be eased 
off for nnining free, and sailing on a bowline. The art of 
sailing a boat against the wind by various zigzag tacks is a 
performance that needs the nicest skill, a keen, watchful 
eye, and frequent practice — that is, if you would do your 
work in a seamanlike manner. 

But the art is by no means difficult to acquire. The 
helmsman must be careful to keep an eye on the luff of the 
mainsail, and should steer as close to the wind as he can. 
In simpler language, he must endeavor so to steer the craft 
as — while keeping as close to the wind as possible — to keep 
the sails full without allowing them to flap to and fro. In 
smooth water you can keep closer to the wind than in rough 
seas. "Keep her full" is a maxim with all yachtsmen; 
that is, keep the sails well blown out with the wind. 

In sailing up a narrow channel to windward, the best plan 
is to furl the jib, and depend only on the main and foresail. 
Large jibs are dangerous at such times, as their driving 
power is apt to be too much for the steersman. When the 
vessel goes free, help her all you can, by easing the tacks 
whenever practicable. 

Sailing to Leeward, or Scudding, is the art of sailing 
the boat when she is running before the wind. Skill and 
caution are more requisite than when you sail against the 
wind, because the sails are apt to unexpectedly gybe, when 
a mast or a sail may be carried away before you know where 
you are. Much, very much, depends on the watchfulness 
and skill of the helmsman. If he sees the slightest indica- 



216 



boys' own book. 




tion of the sail gybing, he must instantly put down the 
helm; and if in a heavy sea, the mainsail must be close- 
reefed or even furled. In scudding, the foresail is of little 
or no assistance, but the jib sometimes helps the boat for- 
ward. The jibsheets, in such a case, should be judiciously 
trimmed and eased off. It will generally be best, in squally 
weather, to drop the peak, trice up the maintack, and reef 
the mainsail. All this, however, depends on the force of 
the wind that drives you forward. 

Furling Sails. — The way in which you furl the sails of a 
cutter or sloop yacht is this : Lift the flap of the sail over 
the boom ; then place the aft end of the sail over the flap, 
hauling it taut while another man neatly rolls the loose sail, 
and lashes it over the gaff. The sail should never be rolled 
round the gaff or the boom. In hot weather, and likewise 
when wet, the saUs should be furled loosely, so that the 
wind may penetrate and dry them. Mildew soon attacks 
a wet sail rolled tightly. The foresail, which is usually 
fastened to the forestay, should be lowered to the stem of 
the vessel, and rolled up. Jibs and gaff-topsails are low- 
ered by their ropes, and stowed away below. Spritsails and 



boys' owzs" book. 



217 



foresails are stowed and furled without being lowered. 
After taking out the sprit, they can be rolled up and fas- 
tened to the mast, not round it. When sails are new, they 
should be frequently wetted with salt water, and allowed to 
dry gradually. This plan will prevent mildew; rain rots 
sails more than sea-water. 



THE VELOCIPEDE. 

The newest rage is the Velocipede ; it is, however, but an 
old rage newly revived; though the Velocipede promises to 




10 



THE BICYCLE. 



218 boys' owk book. 

become as useful as it is popular. The French, of course, 
claim this invention — as they claim every novelty now-a- 
days; but I believe the modern adaptor of the Hobby- 
horse to have been an Englishman residing at Paris. 

The Velocipedes now in use are of two kinds — the 
Bicycle, with two wheels ; the Tricycle, with three wheels. 
They are mainly constructed of wrought iron, and are 
worked by pedals or reels attached to the axle of the front 
or large wheel. The movement of the feet on either side of 
the driving wheel is simply an up-and-down motion similar 
to that of walking; and by the impulsion thus given a 
quicker or slower pace is accomplished at the wUl of the 
rider. The seat, or saddle, is fixed on a bar of iron a few 
inches above the fore wheel. The hands rest on a horizontal 
handle in front. This handle works on a pivot, and serves 
as a balancing pole, the equilibrium of the rider being 
preserved by a slight inclination of his body to the right or 
left. Indeed, the whole secret of riding a Bicycle depends 
on the attention given to the balance of the machine, and 
it is only by great practice that excellence on this machine 
can be attained. The two- wheeled Velocipede runs on the 
same principle as the Hoop; while it is kept upright, it 
travels forward safely. Both the Bicycle and the Tricycle 
are furnished with a brake, the application of which stops 
the motion of the wheels ; and, if he is not very careful, 
topples the rider to the ground. 

The following are the rxiles furnished by a master of the 
art for the guidance of tyros on the Bicycle: — 

" Eun beside your iron horse, leading it, as it were, with 
your hand, so as to familiarize yourself with its move- 
ments: this will be an afEair of a few minutes merely. Then 
commence practicing with it on a slope, and after mount- 
ing it, let it move forward of its own accord, while you oc- 
cupy yourself with studying the effects produced by the 
inclination which you give to the balancing pole or handle 
of the machine. When you thoroughly understand the 
action of this, place one foot on the pedal, and follow its 



boys' 0W2T BOOK. 



219 



movements, without assisting them. The difiaeulty with 
beginners is to restrain the unnecessary expenditure of miis- 
cular force ; they ordinarily perform ten times the labor that 
is requisite. Next repeat the experiment on level groimd, 
having both feet on the pedals, and working them alter- 
nately with scrupulous regularity. Speed is obtained by 
simply accelerating this movement. 

"After an hour or two's practice the tyro will be able to 
accomplish a distance of from thirty to forty yards without 
running the risk of an upset. Should the machine incline 
on one side, all that is necessary to be done is to remove 
the foot on the same side from the pedal, and place it on 
the ground. This can of course only be accomplished 
when the Velocipede is of a moderate height, the proper 
kind of machine with which beginners should make their 
first essays. 

" To alight, both feet are raised from the pedals at the 
same instant, which has the effect of slackening the speed of 
the machine ; the feet are then placed simultaneously on the 
ground without the handle being let go." 

The Tricycle is at once easier to manage and safer to 
ride. It requires much less practice, but its speed is less 
rapid. It is driven in the same way as the Bicycle, by al- 
ternate pressure with both feet. 




230 



boys' own book. 




ANGLING. 



The art of fishing varies by circumstances. To be suc- 
cessful, it must be based on a knowledge of the habits of 
fish — different fishes having different tastes, and even the 
same kind of fishes differing in habits, according to dif- 
ferent localities. We wUl try to give general information 
on the subject, through which a smart boy, by using his 
eyes and judgment, may soon become a good angler. 

The articles required by the angler are as follows : 

THE ROD OR POLE. 

For small fish — chub, dace, roach, minnows, sunfish, and 
small white perch, — a black alder or willow rod, about eight 
feet in length, wUl answer ; but for catching larger fish, a 
carefully made rod is necessary. Besides, it is much pleas- 
anter to have a good rod. It can be had at the shops 
where they sell fishing-tackle, in great variety of shape and 
price. One with four joints or pieces — the butt and "two 
succeeding pieces of ash, and the last joint or tip of lance- 
wood — will be the best for most purposes. It should have 
two tips, one short and one long. The wood should be 



boys' owk book. 321 

straight-grained, and each joint should have eyes, through 
which the line will run easUy. A rod of cane, without 
joints, is very good when it can be kept near the fishing- 
ground, as it is not very portable. Whatever the material, 
the rod must be straight, tapering from butt to point, 
tight in the joints, and with a good spring to it. 

THE REEL. 

Without a reel you would lose many a large fish, by 
having your line broken. The reel is generally made of 
brass, but sometimes of German silver, and may be either 
plain or multiplying. The latter is best, but, being com- 
plex, is liable to get out of order. The plain imported reel 
is very good ; but if you are able to obtain a multiplying 
reel, get an American one, as those made in England are 
very apt to be fitted with brass internal wheels, the cogs of 
which are very poor. A reel that will hold about fifty 
yards of line is enough for a boy's purpose. 

THE LIKE. 

Different lines are required for different fish. For catch- 
ing shiners, a stout piece of homespun thread wUl answer, 
and with this, and a No. 11 hook, you can capture a half- 
pound sunfish or perch, if need be. For your principal line, 
a plaited silk, or well twisted hemp, is best, measuring fifty 
yards. It should be boiled in linseed oil before being used, 
which will add to its durability, and render it less liable to 
kink. For large pike, where you troll for them, you should 
get a stout cotton or hemp line. 

FLOATS. 

Floats are usually made of corks or quills — sometimes of 
red cedar or white pine, and are either egg-shaped, or made 
like two long, narrow cones, joined at their bases. For 
small fish, the quUl-float is preferable. 



222 boys' owjs^ book. 

THE HOOK. 

Your hook has to be proportioned to the Mnd of fish you 
catch, and will vary from the little fly hook, No. 12, up to 
the salmon, No. 0, which is large enough for any fishing a 
boy will ever get. As to the style, the Limerick (A B) is 
decidedly our favorite; although, for some fishing, the Kirby 
(C) is excellent. 

The sizes of both kinds of hooks are the same. 

There is also a pattern called the Virginia hook, which is 
very popular with Southern fishermen. It is shaped like the 
Kirby, with a Limerick barb, and is longer in the shank 
than either. 

After getting the Mnd of hook to suit your fancy, test 
it, and see that it has a good temper, and that the point is 
sharp and perfect. 

SWIVELS. 

These are very necessary. They are generally made of 
blued steel or brass, and should be placed at various parts 
of the line, one being within a foot or eighteen inches of the 

bait. 

LEADEES. 

The leaders, to which the hooks are attached, are made 
either of twisted horse-hair, sea-grass, or sUk-worm gut — 
the latter being the most elegant, almost imperceptible in 
water, and necessary in taking shy fish. 

SINKERS, OR DIPSIES. 

These are of all sizes, from a small shot, half split 
and then closed on the line, to a heavy lead, of a pound or 
more, used in sea-fishing. A swivel sinker is best, as it 
prevents the line from being entangled, and if you troU 
aids in spinning the bait. 

NETS. 

The two nets are the landing and bait. Their uses are ex- 
pressed in their names. The landiag-net is a purse-like net, 



BOTS' OWIsT BOOK. 233 

with half an inch, mesh, and is made about sixteen inches in 
diameter and two feet in length, set on a stout brass wire 
ring, and attached to a light but strong hickory handle, six 
feet long. This is used to land your fish when you have 
fairly captured him. 

THE CLEAEING-RING. 

This is a ring weighing from a quarter of a pound to six 
ounces, which is tied to stout cord, and when the line is 
caught in some obstacle under water, is placed around the 
line, and sent down to clear the way. 

BAITS. 

The ordiaary bait in common fishiag is the angle-worm, as it 
is called, which may be dug up in any loamy soil, especially 
in damp situations, or found by rolling over logs, or lifting 
planks that have lain for some time on the ground. There 
are other species of worms sometimes used, such as the 
brandling, which you will find about old dung-heaps, and 
the marsh-worm, which has a broader, flatter tail than the 
angle-worm. 

The grasshopper, used without a sinker, so as to float on the 
surface, is a killing bait for trout, and the large sunflsh, red- 
eyes, or yellow perch. Sunflsh will bite readily, too, at the 
common black cricket, if it be left floating on the surface. 

Shiners and dace are both used as bait, and chub for large 
fish. They must be put on alive. 

A writer on this subject says : 

" All game-fish take their prey by swallowing it head 
first, not liking the prickles of the dorsal fin to stick in the 
belly. So I insert my hook carefully in the gill-cover of 
my bait, which the little fellow hardly feels, and let him 
play about, until my friend calls for his breakfast." 

For striped bass, or rock-fish, trout, and white perch, 
shad-roe is an excellent bait in its season. 



234 boys' owk book. 

In salt or brackisli water, the soft or shedder crab, the 
shrimp, the soft and hard clam, are much used. 

For many ground-fish, dough, or dough and cheese, mixed 
with cotton, is capital. 

A frog, either whole or in parts, is capital for pike, 
pickerel, or pike-perch, in some localities. 

Spoon-bttit consists of the bowl of a spoon, silvered on the 
convex, and painted red on the concave side, with one or two 
hooks fastened at the top end, and set on the line. Drawn 
quietly through the water, the black bass and pickerel dart 
at it readily. This can be bought at any fishing tackle 
depot. 

In addition to these, there is the artificial fly, the most 
elegant of all baits for trout and salmon; and a great many 
others, which a smart boy wiU find in the woods and about 
the streams, in the shape of flies and beetles. The three 
main baits are, however, artificial flies, earth-worms, 
and small fish. In getting the latter, do not get those 
fish with stiff, prickly back-fins, such as sticklebacks and 
sunfish, no large fish liking to have his throat lacerated 
with their sharp spines. Even that voracious fellow, the 
pike, will hardly venture on a young sunfish, however 
hungry he may be. 

MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. 

Besides the foregoing, you should have with you always 
a little leather case containing, besides your extra hooks, 
etc., a pair of small pliers, scissors, some shoemaker's wax in 
a piece of soft leather, and a piece of stout cord, to be waxed 
and wrapped around your rod, in case it should break, and 
you would need to splice it. A fish-basket, and conve- 
niences of that sort, should be provided. 

GENERAL DIRECTIONS. 

Look out for wind and weather. The south wind, and 
after that the west, is considered the best by all experienced 
anglers, from Walton down, and a cloudy, though not a 



boys' owk book. 225 

cold day, is set down as favorable. The best time of day is 
early in the morning, and late in the afternoon. 

Be cautious. Fish are shy. Never show yourself near 
where the fish lie, if you can help it. Fish, like the Irish- 
man's gun, was made to shoot round a comer. Many a big 
trout, or huge black bass, has been captured while he lay 
hidden under an overhanging bank, by the skillful angler 
dropping or casting his bait gently in his vicinity. Do not 
let your shadow fall in the water. 

THE SALMON. 

This is the noblest of all fish, and to be found in but few 
places in this country. It is confined to the States of Maine, 
California, and Oregon, and some of the Western lakes. 
Occasionally a few make their way up the Hudson. The 
time of taking them is from April to July, and they are 
treated, either to the fly, worms, or minnows. You want a 
heavy rod, with a very large reel, and from three to six 
hundred feet of line. A swivel sinker and cedar float are to 
be used, when you fish with live bait, and your hook is a 
No. 0, 1, 2, or 3, Limerick, with a strong leader of twisted 
gut, from three to six feet in length. 

For worm-fishing, put on your worm head first, and leave 
about a half inch of the tail to wriggle ; throw gently in 
the current, draw it up quietly after it has floated down, 
keeping the bait continually in motion. Keep a tight line 
when he bites, but do not strike too soon. Allow him to 
gorge, then strike suddenly and sharply. If the bite should 
be only a sudden jerk, pay no attention to it — it is merely a 
nibble, but wait till he returns. When he does, look sharp. 
Play him gently but firmly. Let him have line enough as 
he goes from you, but as he returns, reel up. Try and keep 
him clear of stumps and rocks ; be patient, and as cool as 
you can, and he will exhaust himself. Draw him gently to 
shore, put the hook in his gills, and land him. 
10* 



326 boys' OWlS" BOOK. 

THE TROUT. 

This fish is dark gray above, of a light gray, or cream 
color, on chin, throat and belly ; the back and sides having 
many lighter gray, brown, or dirty white spots, which do 
not show themselves on the fins. The breast and beUy-fins 
are yellowish ; teeth, gums, and mouth of a purplish tinge ; 
length two feet. It has a finer flavor than the lake trout. - 

For this fish you want a strong rod, and spoon-bait or re- 
volver. Your line must be stout. You troll for him. You 
manage your fish as in taking salmon. 

PIKE. 

The varieties of this fish are numerous. Besides the true 
pike, there is the pickerel, and, in the West and Southwest, 
the Muskelonge. Then there is a fish known on the Ohio 
and its waters as the salmon, but it is really the 

PIKE-PERCH, 

Which is taken in the same manner, and is a bold and game 
fish. 

For bait you can use minnows, large chubs, small suck- 
ers, red-horse, or frogs — he is not particular. An extra 
swivel or two, here and there, in the first three yards of your 
line, may be useful. 

THE PERCH. 

In this family you will find the white, yellow, and black 
or red perch. In the West and Southwest, they call the 
black bass hlach perch, but he is a different fish. Perch- 
fishing is very pretty sport. You do not require a very 
strong line, nor stout pole, and you will rarely, unless with 
a big fellow, have occasion to use the reel. He is a quick 
biter, and scarcely ever nibbles. The bait may be small 
minnows, shrimp, or worms — the latter almost always good 
in fresh water. Great numbers are taken in rivers, from 
a little before the flood of tide to the hour after, just outside 



boys' ow2^ book. 



237 



of the channel-grass, with a bow-line, made with a whalebone, 
which is kept near the bottom by a dipsy. Each end of the 
bow is furnished with two or three hooks, set on four or five 
inches of gut, and baited with worms. Sometimes five or 
six are caught at once. From May to July is their best 
season, and the hook is a Limerick trout, from 2 to 5 in 



STRIPED BASS, OR ROCKPISH. 




This is a fine game fish, abounding in the rivers, bays, 
and inlets of our Atlantic coast, and in the spring of the 
year ascending the rivers to spawn. The rod and tackle re- 
quired is the same as for the salmon. The bait is minnow, 
shiner, or shad-roe, and when in the bays or mouths of 
rivers, shedder crabs, shrimp, and shad-roe in their season. 
In boat fishing, in still water, you use a cedar or large cork 
float, but in fishing at the bottom of dams or in swift cur- 
rents — capital places — you have no float, and no other sinker 
than a plain swivel. 

Tou manage them, in striking and taking, like the sal- 
mon. They can be caught also by troUing, with either squid 
or spoon-bait, or minnow. 



328 boys' ow2^ book. 

SUNFISH. 

There are several varieties. An extemporized rod, ac- 
cording to the place you fish, a light line, a No. 7, 8 or 9 
hook, a lively worm or a grasshopper, and you have him. 
He loves, like the red-eye, to lie in holes under the bank, 
and in tolerably deep water. His spines protect him from 
the larger fish, and he is quite game and fearless, as well 
as very handsome. 

BLACK BASS. 

This fish is peculiar to the "Western lakes, and the streams 
running into the great rivers of the "West. It resembles, in 
general appearance, the sea-bass, but is not black, though 
it has a blackish appearance above. The best bait is the 
minnow or chub, to be caught in their vicinity, or the 
brooks round about; and if you want big fish, use toler- 
ably large bait. 

You take a medium-sized rod, with about fifty yards of 
line, and a yard leader. A swivel sinker, large enough to 
keep your bait from the surface, and a float so large that 
your bait cannot pull it under, are required. Put your 
hook through the gill-cover of the chub, set your float from 
three to six feet deep, according to the depth of the hole, 
and throw it gently in. Do not strike the first time the float 
goes under. Wait for the second time, and then strike. 
Play him well, giving him line in proportion to his size and 
strength. He plays game for a while, but soon gives up. A 
landing-net, or your finger in his gills, will secure him. 

The above directions, with little variation, wiU. answer 
for the pike-perch in the "Western streams. 

MULLET 

Bites a little better at a worm. You must always fish on 
the bottom for these, with a small hook, and any moderately 
strong line. They require no skill to secure, and the coars- 
est and cheapest tackle will answer. 



boys' own book. 

WEAKFISH. 



^29 




This IS sometimes called wheatfish, and sometimes sque- 
teague. He has an even tail, speckled back and sides, one 
or more sharp, long front teeth in the lower jaw, and yel- 
lowish ventral fins. He is found chiefly in salt or brackish 
waters, in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. He 
bites at shrimp and shedder crab, and is to be caught with 
the same tackle and in the same manner as the striped 
bass, with whom he herds. They will be found, however, 
in rather deeper water, farther from shore, and more in 
the eddies. 

CARP, OR TENCH. 

This is a naturalized fish in the Eastern part of this 
country, though there is a fine large carp in the Western 
waters. The mode of taking both is the same. You re- 
quire strong tackle ; for he is a heavy fish sometimes, and 
strong ; a light quill float, a short leader of gut, and a light- 
colored worm — a brandling being better than an angle- 
worm. Fish on the bottom or near it. He is a very shy 
fish, and you had better bait the spots you mean to fish the 
day before, by throwing in bread-crumbs, chicken-entrails, 
or lumps of dough. 



230 boys' owk book. 



EEL. 



There is good sport sometimes with this fellow, in bob- 
bing ; but he is not much liked on a hook, from his habit of 
twiniag the line, and the slime he leaves on your fingers if 
you handle him. He will be found everywhere, especially in 
muddy bottoms, and boys need no iustruction about catching 
him. Bobbing for eels is very amusing sport. You string 
worms on thi-eads, by running a blunt-pointed long needle 
through them from head to tail. When you have enough 
strings threaded, you tie the ends together, and then fold 
them into a regular hank, like a hank of yarn. This you 
double and treble, until it is about four inches long. Through 
the middle you tie a stout cord, to the bottom of which is a 
^ round dipsy. Over this last the two ends of the bunch, 
which should be about the size of a boy's fist, hang. You 
anchor your boat on the muddy flats of a river, at high tide, 
or lean over the bank of a creek or river at a muddy bottom, 
and drop in your bob and sinker. Presently you feel a sharp 
pull. Your eel has his teeth entangled in the thread, and 
cannot generally let go untU he is in the boat, or on the bank. 

The way to grasp an eel on the hook, is to place the second 
finger on one side of him, and the first and third on the 
other, about an inch and a half from his neck. Then by 
pressing the fingers together he cannot move, and you may 
take the hook from his mouth, and throw him in your bas- 
ket. 

CATFISH. 

The ordinary catfish, bull-head, or bull-trout, is little 
prized, and may be caught by ground-bait, either a worm, 
piece of beef, or dough-bait. But the blue catfish of the 
Western waters fights very well ; and there is a variety, 
called the white catfish, which comes from the sea in the 
East, to spawn yearly, about June and July, that is game, 
and rather handsome. He is more slender than the others, 
semi-transparent when held to the light, has a forked taU like 
a herring, and weighs from four ounces up to four pounds. 



BOTS' OWK BOOK. 



231 



He may be caught like the other. In the Schuyikill Eiver, 
a number were kept from returning to the sea by the erec- 
tion of the dam at Fairmount, and they bred in the river in 
great numbers. 




This fish is taken by trolling with the artificial squid, a 
piece of lead, mother-of-pearl or bone, about four inches 
long, with the bend of the hook at right angles with the flat 
side of the squid. The Kne is cotton, stout, and from forty 
to sixty yards long. When the fish is hooked, haul in steadily 
and without intermission, or the fish will throw himself off. 



SHEEPSHEAD. 

He has a smutty face, banded sides, prominent eyebrows, 
a grooved dorsal fin, extending entirely down his back, and 
a queer mouth, not unlike a sheep's, whence the name. To 
capture him you require a strong cord, a quarter of an 
inch in diameter, from twenty to fifty yards long, a heavy 
sinker, and a stout blackfish hook, and either soft-shell 
clam, with the shell on, or small rock-crab, and fish near 
the bottom. 



332 boys' owk book. 

There is a fresh-water sheepshead, caught at times in the 
lakes, but he is worthless, his flesh being tough, leathery, 
and disagreeable. 

EOACH, 

This is a silver-sided handsome fish, small, and considered 
poor eating. He may be taken in most of the rivers in the 
eastern part of the Northern States, in the same manner as 
the sunfish. He will bite well at small lumps of dough. 

BLACKFISH. 

He is sometimes called the tautog. He may be found in 
the bays from Cape May to Cape Cod. Striped bass tackle, 
and sof t-sheUed clam bait, are wanted for the blackfish ; but 
he wiU often bite readily at the large salt beach-worm. 
You must look for him on rocky bottoms ; and he wiU not 
bite well during a thunder-storm, nor in dull weather. 

CODFISH. 

Off the coast of Massachusetts these fish are mostly taken. 
There is no art in catching them. A coarse, strong cord, a 
large blackfish hook, a piece of mud-clam, or moss-breaker, 
and a heavy sinker. They bite fiercely. 

TOM COD. 

\ 

This, sometimes called the frostfish, looks like a young 
codfish, and is caught in all the bays, inlets, and mouths of 
rivers along the Atlantic coast. It is a little fellow, run- 
ning from six to fifteen inches in length. He can be taken 
with the simplest tackle, and with any bait. 

SEA-BASS. 

This fish is well known to all who are likely to fish for 
him. Sometimes boys from New York, or other large cities 
on the coast, make an excursion in company with older per- 
sons, in the steamboats which are chartered for such a pur- 
pose during the summer months. All one has to do is to 
take with him about eighty feet of stout hemp line, with 



BOYS' OWN BOOK. 



333 




two or three No. 1 Kirby hooks, and a dipsy weighing a 
pound. This, with hard clams, well salted, for bait, and a 
pair of old gloves, to keep the hands from being chafed by 
haxding on the line so much, completes his outfit. He will 
be apt to catch Some porgies at the same time. 

The other sea-fish boys are likely to meet with are floimd- 
ers and smelt. The former are caught near New York and 
Boston, and all along the coast of the Middle States, with a 
small drop-line, No. 8 hook, and soft clam bait. The smelt 
is taken in the rivers of Massachusetts, New York, and 
New Jersey, where they run to spawn in March and April, 
and return again in October and November. They are 
caught with a small line, a No. 2 or 3 trout hook, a short 
leader, and pieces of minnow or frog. 

There are many other fish which our space does not per- 
mit us to describe. We have been obliged to content our- 
selves with a few remarks about the best kno-wn specimens, 
and must trust to our young friends to improve their 
knowledge, as they may easily do, by personal observation, 
and by inquiry among the hardy fishermen who are to be 
found at aU our sea-side resorts, and are always ready and 
willing to gratify the curiosity that springs from a praise- 
worthy desire to gain knowledge. 



234 



BOYS OWlSr BOOK. 



THE CHERRY CHEAT. 

Cut two longitudinal slips out of a card, as ab e d (Fig. 
1) ; also cut out an oval above these slips, as e. Take the 

part (/) between the 
two longitudinal aper- 
tures, with your finger 
and thumb, and draw 
it toward you, until 
the card be bent into a 
half -circle ; pass part 





e. 


c 






C^I^ 






j^ 




i^ 






3. 


I 




^ 


u 



Fig. ]. 



Fig. 2. 

of / through the oval, e, and then, through the part of / so 
passed through e, introduce one of two cherries, whose stems 
grow together. Let the stems and also /, pass back through 
the oval ; put your card as much in the original position as 
possible again, and it will appear as Pig. 2. The puzzle is 
to get the cherries off without breaking their stems, or dam- 
aging the card. It is only to be done in the manner 
described for putting them on. 

THE WOLF, THE GOAT, AND THE CABBAGES. 

Suppose a man has a wolf, a goat, and a basket of cab- 
bages, on the bank of a river, that he wishes to cross with 
them, and that his boat is only big enough to carry one of 
the three besides himself. He must, therefore, take them 
over one by one, in such a manner that the wolf shall have 
no opportunity of devouring the goat, or the goat of de- 
vouring the cabbages. How is he to do this ? 

Answer. First, he takes over the goat ; he then returns, 
and takes the wolf ; he leaves the wolf on the other side, 
and brings back the goat ; he now takes over the cabbages, 
and comes back once more, to fetch the goat. Thus, the 
wolf will never be left with the goat, nor the goat with the 
cabbages. 



boys' owi^ book. 
OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. 



235 




The science of optics affords an infinite variety of amuse- 
ments, which cannot faU to instruct the mind as well as 
delight the eye. By the aid of optical instruments we are 
enabled to lessen the distance to our visual organs between 
the globe we inhabit and "the wonders of the heavens 
above us ; " to observe the exquisite finish and propriety of 
construction which are to be found in the most minute 
productions of the earth ; to trace the path of the planet 
in its course round the magnificent orb of day, and to detect 
the pulsation of the blood, as it flows through the veins of 
an insect. These are but a small portion of the powers 
which this science offers to man ; to enumerate them all 
would require a space equal to the body of our work : neither 
do we propose to notice, in the following pages, the various 
instruments and experiments which are devoted solely, or 
rather, chiefly, to purposes merely scientific ; it being our 
intention merely to call the attention of our juvenile readers 
to such thiQgs as combine a vast deal of amusement with 
much instruction ; to inform them as to the construction of 
the various popular instruments ; to show the manner of 
using them, and to explain some of the most attractive ex- 



236 



BOYS OWN" BOOK. 



periments wliioli the science affords. By doing thus mneh, 
we hope to offer a sufficient inducement to push inquiry 
much further than the information -which a work of this 
natm-e will enable us to afford. 

THE CAMERA OBSCURA. 

We give our young friends a brief description of this opti- 
cal invention ; though very common, it is extremely amus- 
ing ; almost every one 
has seen it, but few 
pei-sons know how to 
construct it. A C rep- 
resents a box of about a 
foot and a half square, 
shut on every side ex- 
cept at D C ; P is a 
smaller box, placed on 
the top of the greater ; 
M N is a double convex 
lens, whose axis makes 
an angle of forty-five 
degrees with B L, a 
plane mirror, fixed in the box, P ; the focal length of the 
lens is nearly equal to C S + S T, i. e., to the sum of the dis- 
tances of the lens from the middle of the mirror, and of the 
middle of the mirror from the bottom of the large box. 
The lens being turned toward the prospect, would form a pic- 
ture of it, nearly at its focus ; but the rays being inter- 
cepted by the mirror, wiU form the picture as far before the 
surface as the focus is behind it, that is, at the bottom of 
the larger box ; a commimication being made between the 
boxes by the vacant space, Q 0. This instrument is fre- 
quently used for the delineation of landscapes : for which 
purpose, the draughtsman, putting his head and hand into 
thejjox, through the open side, D C, and drawing a curtain 
round to prevent the admission of the light which would 
disturb the operation, can trace a distinct outline of the 
pietui-e that appears at the bottom of the box. 




boys' own book. 



237 



THE MAGIC LANTERN. 

The object of this ingemoxis instrument is to represent, 
in a dark room, on a white wall or cloth, a succession of 
enlarged figures, of remarkable natural or grotesque ob- 
jects. The figure on this page is a representation of one. 
It consists of a tin box, with a funnel on the top, repre- 
sented by e, and a door on one side of it. This funnel, by 
being bent, as shown in the figure, serves the double pur- 
pose of letting out the smoke, and keeping in the light. In 
the middle of the bottom of the box is placed a movable 
tin lamp, a, which must have two or three good lights, at 
the height of the centre of the polished tin reflector, c. In 
the front of the box, opposite the reflector, is fijsed a tin 
tube, m, in which there slides another tube, n. The sUding 
tube has, at its outer 
extremity, a convex 
lens, of about two 
inches diameter ; the 
tube, m, also has a con- 
vex lens fixed in it, as 
shown in the figure, of 
three inches diameter. 
The focus of the small- 
er of these lenses may 
be about five inches. 
Between the tube, m, 

and the lamp, there must be a slit or opening (as at ^^), to 
admit of the passage of glass slides, mounted in paper or 
wooden frames, such as are represented on next page ; upon 
which slides it is that the miniature figures are painted, 
which are intended to be shown upon the wall. The dis- 
tinctness of the enlarged figures depends not only upon the 
goodness of the magnifying glass, but upon the clearness 
of the light yielded by the lamp, a. It may be purchased 
ready made of any optician, or toy store. 

To paint the Glasses. — Draw on a paper the subject you 




238 



BOYS OWSr BOOK. 



desire to paint. Lay it on a table or any flat surface, and 
place the glass over it ; then draw the outlines, with a very 



fine pencil, in varnish mixed with black paint, and, when 
dry, fiJl up the other parts in their proper colors. Trans- 
parent colors must be used for this purpose, such as car- 
mine, lake, Prussian blue, verdigris, sulphate of iron, tinc- 
ture of Brazil wood, gamboge, etc. ; and these must be 
tempered with a strong white varnish, to prevent their peel- 
ing off. Then shade them with black, or with bistre, mixed 
with the same varnish. 

To exhibit the Magic Lantern. — The lamp being lighted, 
and the room darkened, place the machine on the table, at 
some distance from the white wall or suspended sheet, and 
introduce into the slit, i i, one of the slides represented 
above, with the figures inverted. If the movable tube, n, 
be then pushed in. or drawn out, till the proper focus be ob- 
tained, the figm-es on the slide wiU be reflected on the wall, 
in their distiact colors and proportions, with the appearance 
of life itself, and of any size, from six inches to seven feet, 
according to the distance of the lantern from the waU. 
Movements of the figures are easUy made by painting the 
subject on two glasses, and passing both through the groove 
at the same time. 

To represent a Tempest. — Provide two plates of glass, 
whose frames are so thin that they may both pass freely 
through the groove of the common magic lantern at the 




same time. On one of these paint the appearance of the 
sea, from the slightest agitation to the most violent com- 
motion ; representing first, a calm ; afterward a smaU agi- 



boys' owk book. 



339 



tation, with some clouds ; and so on to the end, which 
should exhibit a furious storm. 

These representations are not to be distinct, but run into 
each other, that they may form a natural gradation ; and 
great part of the effect depends on the perfection of the 
painting, and the picturesque appearance of the design. 

On the other glass, paint vessels of different forms and 
dimensions, and in different directions, together with the 
appearance of clouds in the tempestuous parts. 




Both glasses being done, pass the first slowly through the 
groove ; and when you come to that part where the storm 
begins, move it gently up and down, which will produce the 
appearance of a sea that begins to be agitated, and so 
increase the motion till you come to the height of the storm. 
At the same time introduce the other glass with the ships, 
and, moving that in like manner, they will exhibit a natu- 
ral representation of the sea, and of ships in a calm and in 
a storm. As the glasses are drawn slowly back, the tem- 
pest will seem to subside, the sky grow clear, and the ships 
glide gently over the waves. 

THE APPARITION, OR GHOST. 
Inclose a small magic lantern in a box large enough to 

contain a small swing 
dressing-glass, which will 
reflect the light thrown on 
it by the lantern in such a 
way that it will pass out 
at the aperture made at 
the top of the box, which 
aperture should be oval, 
and of a size adapted to 
the cone of light to pass through it. There should be a 




240 boys' 0W2!f BOOK. 

flap with hinges to cover the opening, that the inside of the 
box may not be seen. There must be holes in that part of 
the box which is over the lantern, to let the smoke out ; and 
over this must be placed a chafing-dish, of an oblong figure, 
large enough to hold several lighted coals. This chafing- 
dish, for the better carrying on the deception, may be in- 
closed in a painted tin box, about a foot high, with a hole at 
top, and should stand on four feet, to let the smoke of the 
lantern escape. There must also be a glass planned to move 
up and down in the groove, a b, and so managed by a cord 
and pulley, c d ef, that it may be raised up and let down by 
the cord coming through the outside of the box. On this 
glass, the spectre (or any other figure you please) must be 
painted, in a contracted or squat form, as the figure will re- 
flect a greater length than it is drawn. 

When you have lighted the lamp in the lantern, and 
placed the mirror in a proper direction, put the box on a 
table, and, setting the chafing-dish in it, throw some in- 
cense in powder on the coals. You then open the trap- 
door and let down the glass in the groove slowly, and when 
you perceive the smoke diminish, draw up the glass that the 
figure may disappear, and shut the trap-door. 

Tliis exhibition will afford a deal of wonder ; but observe, 
that all the lights in the room must be extinguished, and 
the box should be placed on a high table, that the aperture 
through which the light comes out may not be seen. 

INGENIOUS ANAMOEPHOSIS. 

This recreation shows how to draw, on a flat surface, an 
irregular figure, which shall appear, when seen from a proper 
point of view, not only regular, but elevated. Provide a 
thin board, about two feet long and one foot wide, as A B 
D, and place thereon a circular piece of card or stiff draw- 
ing paper, on which a distorted figure is to be drawn, that, 
being viewed from the point H, shall appear regular, and 
exactly resembling that which is placed at M F. 

Fix at the end of the board an upright piece, I, of thin 



boys' own book. 



241 



wood or tin, at the top of which is a sight-hole, H, of two- 
tenths of an inch in diameter. 
Prepare a lamp, or candlestick, the light of which may be 




raised or lowered at pleasure, and to which is fixed a brass 
arm, bearing a sort of conical funnel, D, and whose open- 
ing at the end next the light is not more than three or four 
tenths of an inch in diameter. 

Draw the subject you would represent on a piece of glass 
of equal height with the space M F, with a very light 
stroke, and with any color that is quite opaque. Then re- 
move the upright piece, I, and place the lamp, so prepared, 
in such a manner that the light may be exactly where the 
sight-hole, H, was. Its rays then passing through the glass 
at M F, will enlighten the surface of your paper, and there 
show, in a distorted form, the subject that is painted on the 
glass. Then draw, with a pencil, all the strokes of the 
shadow as they appear, and, taking away 
the light, replace the upright side-piece, I, 
and see if what you have drawn corre- 
sponds with the subject on the glass, cor- 
recting what imperfections there may 
happen to be. In the last place, color the 
subject so traced with the utmost at- 
tention, inspecting your work from time 
to time from the point of view, before you 
give it the finishing stroke. When the 
figure that is drawn and painted on your paper is viewed 
from the sight, H, it appears to be at the same point where 
11 




243 boys' owk book. 

the glass, M F, was placed, and in the same form that it 
was painted on the glass. It appears to the eye even elevated 
above the surface of the board on which the drawing is 
placed, and thereby makes a remarkable and pleasiag il- 
lusion. 

SINGULAE ILLUSION. 
Affix to a dark wall a round piece of paper an inch or two 
in diameter, and a little lower, at the distance of two feet 
on each side, make two marks ; then place yourself directly 
opposite to the paper, and hold the end of your finger before 
your face in such a manner, that when the right eye is open, 
it shall conceal the mark on the left, and when the left eye 
is open, the mark on the right ; if you then look with both 
eyes to the end of your finger, the paper, which is not at all 
concealed by it from either of your eyes, will, nevertheless, 
disappear. 

ANOTHEE. 

Fix, at the height of the eye, on a dark ground, a smaU, 
round piece of white paper, and a little lower, at the distance 
of two feet to the right, fix up another, of about three inches 
in diameter ; then place yourself opposite to the first piece 
of paper, and, having shut the left eye, retire backward, 
keeping your eye stUl fixed on the first object; when you are 
at the distance of nine or ten feet, the second will entirely 
disappear from your sight. 

THE CONJUROR'S JOKE. 

Take a ball in each hand, and stretch your hands as far 
as you can, one from the other ; then state that you wiU 
contrive to make both the balls come into either hand, 
without bringing the hands near each other. If any one 
dispute your power of doing this, you have no more to do, 
than to lay one ball down upon the table, turn yourself, and 
take it up with your other hand. Thus both the balls will 
be in one of your hands, without their approaching each 
other. 




boys' owk book. 243 

THE SENTINEL EGG. 

Lay a looking-glass upon an even table ; take a fresh egg, 
and shake it for some time, so that the yolk may be broken 
and mixed up with the white. You may then, with a steady 
hand, balance it on its point, and make it stand on the glass. 
This it would be impossible to do while the egg was in its 
natural state. 

THE BRIDGE OF KNIVES. 

To erect the bridge of knives, you must first place three 
glasses, or small cups at the corners of a supposed triangle, 
and about the length of one of 
the knives you use distant from 
each other, upon a table, the floor, 
or any even surface. Then take 
three knives, and arrange them 
upon the glasses in the manner 
represented by the cut. The blade 

of No. 1 (as you may perceive by inspecting the engraving) 
goes over that of No. 2, and the blade of No. 2 passes across 
that of No. 3, which rests on that of No. 1. The knives 
being placed in this position, their blades will support each 
other. 

EATABLE CANDLE ENDS. 

Peel some large apples that are rather of a yellow tint ; 
cut several pieces out of them in the shape of a candle end, 
round, of course, ■ at the bottom, and square at the top ; in 
fact, as much as possible like a candle that has burnt down 
within an inch or so. Then cut some slips out of the in- 
sides of sweet almonds, fashion them as much in the shape 
of spermaceti wicks as you can, stick them into your mock 
candles, light them for an instant, so as to make their tops 
black, blow them out again, and they are ready for use. 
When you produce them, light them (the almond will 
readily take fire, and flame for a few moments), put them 
into your mouth, chew and swallow them one after another. 
This may well be called the juggler's dessert. 



244 



boys' own book. 




THE PERILOUS GOBLET. 

To fill a glass with water, so that no one may touch it 
without spilling all the water. Fill a common wine-glass or 
goblet with water, and place upon it a bit of paper, so as to 
cover the water and edge of the glass ; put the palm of your 
hand on the paper, and taking hold of the glass with the 
other, suddenly invert it on a very smooth table, and gently 
draw out the paper ; the water will remain suspended in the 
glass, and it will be impossible to move the glass, without 
spilling all the water. 

TO LIGHT A CANDLE BY SMOKE. 

When a candle is burnt so long as to leave a tolerably 
large wick, blow it out ; a dense smoke, which is composed 
of hydrogen and carbon, will immediately arise. Then, if 
another candle, or lighted taper, be applied to the utmost 
verge of this smoke, a very strange phenomenon will take 
place : the flame of the lighted candle will be conveyed to 
that just blown out, as if it were borne on a cloud, or, 
rather, it will seem like a mimic flash of lightning proceed- 
ing at a slow rate. 

WINE UPON WATER. 
Half fill a glass with water, throw a bit of the crumb of 
a loaf into it, about the size of a nut, pour some wine- 
lightly on the bread, and you will see the water at the bot- 
tom of the glass, and the wine floating at the top of it. 




boys' OWif BOOK. 345 

THE THUMB STRING. 

This is a very simple trick, but by performing it quickly, 
you may surprise and puzzle a spectator very considerably. 
"Wind a piece of string round your ^^^^r-^^^^O 

thumb, thus :— Let one end of it (a) 
drop between the thumb and fore- 
finger of your left hand ; then wind 
the other part, which you retain in 
your right hand, two or three times 
round your thumb ; next, make a little loop (b) with the 
same end, which hold between your finger and thumb. Now 
let go the end (c) and take hold of the end (a), which you 
must have left about six or eight inches long, and you may 
make a spectator fancy you pass it through the loop, and 
take hold of it again, when so passed through, in the twink- 
ling of an eye. To increase the surprise, you may make the 
loop as small as possible. This apparent piece of manual 
dexterity is performed by passing that end of the string 
marked a, as quickly as possible round the top of the thumb, 
so as to come between the forefinger and thumb : it will 
thus get into the loop, and you will seem to have passed the 
end through it. 

TO SUSPEND A RING BY A BURNT THREAD. 

The thread having been previously soaked two or three times 
in common salt and water, tie it to a ring, not larger than 
a wedding ring. When you apply the flame of a candle to it, 
though the thread burn to ashes, it will yet sustain the ring. 

THE FASCINATED BIRD. 

Take any bird, and lay it on a table ; then wave a small 
feather over its eyes, and it will appear as dead, but taking 
the feather away, it will revive again. Let it lay hold of the 
stem part of the feather, and it will twist and turn like a 
parrot ; you may likewise roU it about on the table just as 
you please. 




246 boys' owk book. 

THE WONDERFUL REJLLTJMINATION. 

After having; eihibited the trick of lighting a candle by 
smoke, privately ptit a bit of paper between your fingers, 
and retire to one corner of the 
room with a single candle, and 
pass the hand, in which you hold 
the paper, several times slowly 
over the candle until the paper 
takes fire ; then immediately blow 
the candle out, and presently, 
pass your hand over the snuff, 
and relight it with the paper. 
You may then crumple the paper, 
at the same time extinguishing the flame, by squeezing it 
suddenly, without burning yourself. If this trick be per- 
formed dexterously, it is a very good one. It is not necessary 
for the performance of this trick that all the other lights in 
the room should be extinguished ; in fact, the trick is more 
liable to a discovery in a dark room, than in one where the 
lights are burning, on account of the light thrown out by 
the paper while it is burning, previous to the re-illumination. 

THE MOVING PYRAMID. 

Roll up a piece of paper, or other light substance, and 
privately put into it any small insect, such as a lady-bird, 
or beetle ; then, as the creature will naturally endeavor to 
free itself from captivity, it will move its covering toward 
the edge of the table, and when it comes there, will imme- 
diately return, for fear of falling ; and thus, by moving 
backward and forward, will excite much diversion to those 
who are ignorant of the cause. 

THE MYSTERIOUS BOTTLE. 

Pierce a few holes, with a glazier's diamond, in a common 
black bottle, place it in a vase or jug of water, so that the 
neck only is above the surface. Then, with a funnel, fill the 



boys' owi^ book. 247 

bottle, and cork it well, while it is in tlie jug or vase. Take 
it out, and notwithstanding the holes in the bottom, it will 
not leak ; wipe it dry, and givB it to some person to uncork. 
The moment the cork is drawn, to the party's astonishment, 
the water will begin to run out of the bottom of the bottle. 

THE BALANCED STICK. 

Procure a piece of wood about the length of your hand, 
half an inch thick, and twice as broad ; within a short dis- 
tance of one end of this 
piece, thrust in the points of 
the blades of two penknives 
of equal weight, in such a 
manner, that one of them 
may incline to one side, the 
second to the other, as repre- 
sented by the cut in the mar- 
gin. If its other extremity 
be placed on the tip of the 
finger, the stick will keep itself upright without falling ; and 
if it be made to incline, it will raise itself again and I'eeover 
its former situation. This is a very pretty performance, 
and if properly managed, cannot fail to excite some surprise 
in the minds of those who behold it for the first time, as 
the knives, instead of appearing to balance the stick, which 
they in fact do, will rather appear to increase the diflB.culty 
of the feat. 

STOEM AND CALM. 

Pour water into a glass until it is nearly three parts full ; 
then almost fill it up with oil ; but be sure to leave a little space 
between the oil and the top of the glass. Tie a bit of string 
round the glass, and fasten the two ends of another piece of 
string to it, one on each side, so that, when you take hold of 
the middle of it to lift up the glass, it may be about a foot 
from your hand. Now swing the glass to and fro, and the 
oil will be smooth and unruffled, while the surface of the 
water beneath it will be violently agitated. 




248 



BOYS OW]Sr BOOK. 



THE DOUBLED COIN. 

Half fill a glass with water, and put a coin into it ; cover 
the glass with a plate, upon which place one hand, while 
you hold the glass with the other ; turn the glass upside 
down, so that none of the water may escape ; place it on a 
table, and you will see the coin at the bottom larger than 
it is in reality, and another will appear, of the natural size, 
a little above it. 

THE TOPER'S TRIPOD. 

A trick similar to the Bridge of Knives may be perform- 
ed by three tobacco-pipes, in the following manner : — Pro- 
cure three common tobacco-pipes ; place the hollow part of 

the bowl of one of them on 

■^ ' the table, as No 1, and let 

iMTfjji ^^^ stem be supported by 

'^^ \M[__ another, placed at No. 2 ;, 

then put the other pipe 
_-^ across Nos. 1 and 2 (as 
''^^%r^ No. 8), so that its bowl 
end may support the stem 
of No. 2, and its own stem rest on the bowl end to No. 3. 
This little tripod, although constructed of such brittle ma- 
terials, will, if carefully put together, support a jug of foam- 
ing Lager. "When used to show that it will support a 
weight, the three bowls should be brought considerably 
closer together than as represented in the marginal cut, so 
that the bottom of the jug may rest upon all three of the 
stems. 




THE COUNTER CHANGED. 

Take two papers, three inches square each, divided into 
two folds, of three equal parts on each side, so as each folded 
paper remains one inch square ; then glue the back part of 
the two together, as they are folded, and not as they are open- 
ed, so that both papers seem to be but one, and which side 



boys' own book. 



249 



soever you open, it may appear to be the same ; if you have 
a dime in one hand, and a counter in the other, show one, 
and you may, by turning the paper, seem to change it. 

THE PRANCING DRAGOON". 
Cut out the flgure of a dragoon, mounted, in wood ; let 
the horse be in a prancing position : put the hind legs on the 
edge of a table, and it will, 
of course, fall oil ; but you 
can prevent it from so do- 
ing, by adding to its weight. 
For this purpose, you must 
have a little hole made in 
the centre of the belly, into 
which run one end of a 
piece of wire, so bent back- 
ward, that the other end of 
it, to which a weight is fix- 
ed, may be under the table. 
The Dragoon will not only 
stand safe, but you may put 
him in motion, and ho will prance up and down, without 
there being the least danger of his falling. The wire should 
be considerably longer in proportion to the size of the horse 
than is represented in the engraving in the margin, if you 
wish the figure to gome much below the edge of the table 
when prancing. If it be no longer than that shown in the 
cut, the horse's fore-legs can only descend to a distance 
equal to that between the weight at the end of the wire, and 
the bottom of the table on which the figure is set. In fact, 
the Dragoon may be made to descend lower, and rise higher, 
in proportion to the length of the wire, if it be properly 
curved and fixed in the figure. 

THE BOWING BEAU. 
Make a figure, resembling a man, of any substance, exceed- 
ingly light, such as the pith of the alder tree, which is 
11* 





250 boys' OWiq- BOOK. 

soft, and can easily be cut into any form ; then proyide 
for it an hemispherical base, of some very heavy substance, 
such as the half of a leaden bullet, 
made very smooth on the convex 
part. Cement the figure to the plane 
part of the hemisphere ; and, in what- 
ever position it is placed, when left 
to itself, it will rise upright. In 
this manner were constructed those 
smaU figures, called Prussians, sold 
at Paris : they were formed into bat- 
talions, and being made to fall down, 
by drawing a rod over them, they 
immediately started up again as soon 
as it was removed. We think that 
the figure of a beau, or master of the ceremonies, is much 
more appropriate for this trick than that of a soldier, as 
the latter seldom bows, while by the former the most pro- 
found inclinations are often performed. By moving it once 
downward a succession of bows may be produced. 

THE WIZARD'S CHARIOT. 

This trick will call your mechanical abilities into play. 
First, get a piece of board, planed quite smooth ; fasten a 
cross-piece under it, to support it in the position indicated 
by the cut. At the upper edge of the slanted piece, fix two 
little pulleys, the use of which may, at a glance, be seen 
by the engraving. Next, construct two little coaches, carts, 
or classical triumphal chariots ; let the wheels of one of 
them be considerably larger than those of the other ; they 
must, however, be precisely the same weight, or, if not, you 
must load one with shot to make it equal, in this respect, to 
the other. Do your work so neatly, that the wheels of each 
may run equally well on their respective axles. Next pro- 
vide two lumps of lead, which must tally with each other 
to a scruple, and be sufiBeiently heavy to pull the chariots 
up the plane. Fix a piece of thread to the front of each of 



BOYS' OWIS" BOOK. 



251 



the chariots ; pass these threads through the pulleys, and 
fasten one of your weights to each of them. The threads, 
be it remarked, 
should be long 
enoug h only to 
reach from the cha- 
riot, when placed 
at the foot of the 
inclined boards, 
through the pul- 
leys to the leads ; 
and the board 
should be so inclin- 
ed that the distance 
from the pulleys 
to the ground be 

precisely the same as that of the chariots to the pulleys. 
Your apparatus being thus ready, weigh the chariots to- 
gether, and afterward the leads in the presence of the spec- 
tators, that they may be satisfied they are equal, and let 
them inspect your apparatus, to see that all is fair : then 
start your chariots, and, notwithstanding the equality of 
their weights, and the equality of those of the leads, one of 
them will considerably outstrip the other ; the chariot with 
the highest wheels will always be the winner of the race. 
This mechanical truth is unknown to many, and may if prop- 
erly managed, produce much surprise. 




THE SIMPLE DECEPTION. 

Stick a little wax upon your thumb, take a by-stander by 
the fingers, show him a dime, and tell him you will put the 
same into his hand; then wring it down hard with your 
waxed thumb, and using many words, look him in the face ; 
suddenly take away your thumb, and the coin will adhere to 
it ; then close his hand ; it will seem to him that the dime re- 
mains ; now teU him to open his hand, and, if you perform 



252 boys' owk book. 

the feat cleverly, to his great astonishment, he •will find 
nothing in it. 




THE AUTOMATIC CHESS-PLATER. 

PHILOSOPHY CHEATED. 

This feat is really an excellent one, and has astonished 
crowds of spectators in London and different parts of the 
United States. It was one of the favorites of a late 
popular professor, and is now first promulgated. Before 
you perform it in public, you must practice it until you are 
quite perfect, in private, for it would be a pity to spoil its 
effect by making a blunder in it. Begin by stating very 
seriously, what is a well-known fact, that if a bucket fidl of 
water be hurled round his head by a man, who is sufficiently 
strong, none of the water wiU fall out. If this be at aU 
discredited, be prepared not only to support your assertion, 
but to carry the point still further, by placing a tumbler full 
of any liquid in the inside of a broad hoop, which you hold 
in your hand by a small piece of string fixed to it, and 
twirling it round at your side. If you do this with velocity, 
although the tumbler, in the circles made by the hoop, is 
frequently quite bottom upward, it will neither fall from 
the hoop, nor will any of the water be spUt. To do this, 
however, requires even more practice than the trick which 
it prefaces; as, although there is no difficulty in it while 



boys' owk book. 253 

the hoop is in rapid motion, yet there is some danger until 
you are rendered expert by practice, of the tumbler's falling 
"when you begin to put the hoop in motion, and when you 
wish to stop it. If, therefore, you are not perfectly capable 
of doing it, state the fact only, which some or other of 
your auditors wUl most probably support, as it is pretty 
generally known. You now go on to say that the air 
under the water in the glass, when it is topsy-turvy, keeps 
it in ; and that, upon the same principle, if you can turn 
your hand, upon which you place a piece of thin wood 
(about one inch broad and six inches long) sufficiently 
quick, although the back be iippermost, the air will actually 
keep the wood up against the palm of your hand, without 
any support. 

This they will be readily inclined to believe ; the more 
philosophical the party is, the more easily may you lead them 
to credit your assertion. They 
will, however, doubt your being 
possessed of sufficient manual dex- 
terity to perform it quick enough. 

We must now tell you how it is 
to be done : — Lay the piece of wood 
across the pabn of your left hand, 
which keep wide open, with the 
thumb and all the fingers far 
a part, lest you be suspected of 
supporting the wood with them. Next, take your left wrist 
in your right hand, and grasp it tightly, for the purpose, as 
you state, of giving the hand more steadiness. Now, sud- 
denly turn the back of your left hand uppermost, and, as 
your wrist moves in your right hand, stretch out the fore- 
finger of your right hand, and as soon as the wood comes 
undermost, support it witu such forefinger. You may now 
shake the hand, and, after a moment or two, suffer the 
wood to drop. It is two to one but the spectators wUl ad- 
mit it to be produced by the action of the air, as you had 
previously stated, and try to do it themselves ; but, of course, 




254 



boys' 0W2T BOOK. 



they must, unless you have performed the feat so awk- 
wardly as to be discovered, fail in its performance. If you 
have no objection to reveal the secret, 
you can do it again, and while they are 
gravely philosophizing upon it suddenly 
lift up your hand {vide cut) and expose 
the trick. This will doubtless create 
much amusement. Observe that in do- 
ing this feat, you must keep your fin- 
gers so low that no one can see the palm 
of your left hand; and move your finger 
so carefully, that its action may not be 
detected ; and if it be not, you may rest 
satisfied that its absence from round the 
wrist of the left hand will not be discovered, some of the 
fingers being naturally supposed to be under the coat ; so 
that, if the spectators only see two or even one, they wiU 
imagine the others are beneath the cuff. There is one other 
observation necessary before we conclude ; it is this : When 
you have turned your hand over, do not keep the stick too 
long upheld, lest the spectators should take hold of your 
hands and discover the trick ; before their astonishment 
has ceased, adroitly remove your forefinger, and suffer the 
stick to fall to the ground. 






nmODUCTION TO PAET 11. 



Now, my dear boys, having given you in the preceding 
part the rules and regulations for an infinite number of 
games, to amuse you through the summer and winter months, 
if you will give me your attention, by following me through 
this, the second part of our book, I will endeavor to give 
you a little instruction as well as amusement, by inform- 
ing you how certain things occur. This I propose to do in 
the way of conversations held between a gentleman and his 
family. So I must ask you to indulge me so far as to try 
the scheme I have hit upon, by which I hope to turn 
" Spoet into Science ; " or, in other woi'ds, Toys into instru- 
ments of Philosophical Instruction. 

In the first place, I will give you some general notions 
with regard to the properties of matter, such as its gravita- 
tion, elasticity, the velocity of falling bodies, why a top 
spins, the kite will soar in the air, and a fly can walk up 
the window. 

9 



10 PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

"What apparatus can be required for such a purpose, beyond 
some of the more simple toys ? Indeed, I Avill undertake to 
demonstrate the three grand laws of motion by a game at 
baU ; Avhile the composition and resolution of forces may be 
beautifully exemplified during a game of marbles, especially 
that of 'riug-taAv;' but in order that you may more clearly 
comprehend the capability of my plan, allow me to enumer- 
ate the various philosophical principles which are involved in 
the operation of the several more popular toys and sports. 
Wn will commence with the baU ; which wiU illustrate the 
na^'iu-e and phenomena of elasticity^ as it leaps from the 
giv und ; — of rotatory motion^ while it runs along its surface ; 
— ^f reflected motion, and of tlio angles of incidence and 
reflection, as it rebounds from the wall ; and of projectiles, as 
it i'l whirled through the air ; at the same time the cricket- 
bat may «erve to explain the center of percussion. A game 
at marbles may be made subservient to the same purposes, 
and win further assist us in conveying clear ideas upon the 
8ubie<',t of the collision of elastic and non-elastic hodies, and 
of their velocities and direction after impact. The composi- 
tion and resolution of forces may be explained at the same 
time. The nature of elastic springs wiU require no other- 
apparatus for its elucidation than Jack-in-the-box and the 
numerous leaping-frogs and cats with which the play-room 
abounds. The leathern sucker wiU exemplify the nature of 
cohesion, and the effect of water in filling up those inequali- 
ties by which contiguous surfaces are deprived of their attrac- 
tive power ; it will, at the same time, demonstrate the nature 
of a vacuum, and the influence of atmospheric pressure. The 
squirt will aftbrd a further illustration of the same views, and 
will furnish a practical proof of the weight of the atmo- 
sphere in raising a column of water. The theory of the 
pump will necessarily follow. The greater elasticity of air 
compared with that of water, I shall be able to bliow by the 
amusing exhibition of the '•Bottle Imps.^" 

" Bottle Imps ! — Acheronta movehis .'' " muttered the vicar. 

Mr. Seymour continued — " The various balancing toys will 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. U 

elucidate the nature of the center of grawity^ j}oint of 8UH])en- 
sion, and line of direction ; tlio see-saw, rocking-horse, and 
the operation of walking on stilts, will hero come in aid of 
our explanations. The combined ofFects of momentum and 
a change in the center of gravity of a body may ho beauti- 
fully exemplified by the action of the Chinese Tumblers. 
The sling will demonstrate the existence and effect of cen- 
trifugal force^ and humble and finite as the alliance may 
seem, it will satisfactorily explain the motions of those celes- 
tial orbs that revolve to all eternity around a central sun. 
The top* and tee-totum will prove the power of whirling 
motion to support the axis of a body in an unaltered posi- 
tion. The trundling of the hoop will accomj)lish the same 
and other objects ; as will also the wliirling of the quoit^ 
with the additional advantage of not having its motions im- 
peded by contact with the ground. The game of lilhoquet, 
or cup and ball, will show the influence of rotatory motion 
in steadying the rectilinear path of a spherical body, whence 
the tlicory of the rifle-gun may be deduced. For conveying 
some elementary ideas of the doctrine of oscillation, there is 
the swing. The flight of the arrow will not oidy elucidate the 
principles of projectiles, but will exjjlain the force of the air 
in producing rotatory m(;tion by its impact on oblique sur- 
faces : the revolution of the shuttlecock *may bo shown to 
depend ujion the same revolution of forces. Then comes the 
kite, one of the most instructive and amusing of all the pas- 
times of youth, — the favorite toy of Newton in his boyish 
days :t — its ascent at onco develops the theory of the com- 

♦ "The motion of the top is a matter of the greatest Importance. It is appli- 
cable to the elucidation of some of tlie greatest phenomena in nature." — Airy^s 
Lecture at JpHwich. 

+ Sir iHaac Newton is said to have been much attached to plilloHopliical 
sports wlien a boy; lie was tlie first t(/ introduce paper i<ltes at Orantliam, 
whore lie was at sclioo). lie toolc pains to And out tlioir proper proportions 
and ilguro, and the proper place for fixing tlie string to them, lie made lan- 
terns of paper crimplod, wliich he used to go to school by in winter mornings 
witli a candle, and lie tied them to the tail of ids kites in a dark night, which 
at first frightened tlie country people exceedingly, who took his candles for 
comets. — Thom/pHon'ii Ilint. of R. S. 



12 PHILOSOPHY IN SrOKT 

position and resolution of forces, and explains various sub- 
ordinate principles which I shall endeavor to describe when 
we arrive at the subject. The seesaw will unfold the general 
principle upon which the Mechanical Powers are founded; 
and the boy may thus be easily led to the theory of the lever, 
by being shown how readily he can balance the heavier 
weight of a man by riding on the longer arm of a plank. 
The theory, of colors may be pointed out to him as he blows 
iiis soap-bubbles;* an amusement wliich wiU, at the same 
time, convince him that the an* must exert a pressure equally 
in aU du'ections. For explaining the theory of sound, there 
are the whistle, the humming-top, the whiz-gig, the pop-gun, 
the buU-roarer, and sundry other amusements well known in 
the playground ; but it is not my intention, at present to 
enumerate all the toys which may be rendered capable of 
affording philosophical instruction; I merely wish to con- 
vince you that my plan is not quite so chimerical as you were 
at first inclined to beheve. I do not profess to place the 
head of Laertes on the shoulders of Telemachus, nor, like 
Friar Bacon, to teach the science of the age in half a year ; 
but I do engage to teach the young student those rudiments 
by which, with diligence and a wiUing mind, he may ulti- 
mately acquire it." 

" Upon my word,^' said the vicar, " no squirrel ever hopped 
from branch to branch with more agility ; you are the very 
counterpart of Cornelius Scriblerus ; but I must confess that 
your scheme is plausible, very plausible, and I shall no longer 
refuse to attend you in the progress of its execution. 

* The colors which glitter on a soap-bubble are the immediate con- 
sequence of a principle the most important from the variety of phe- 
nomena it explains, and the most beautiful from its simplicity and 
compendious neatness in the whole science of Optics. — HerscheVs Pre- 
liminary Discourse. In a future part of this work it will be seen that 
the soap-bubble enabled Faraday to carry out a most important series of 
experiments. 



PHILOSOPHY m SPORT. 




~<0m- 

CHAPTER I. 



ON GRAVITATION. — WEIGHT, — THE VELOCITY OF PALLING BOD- 
IES. — AT WHAT ALTITUDE A BODY WOULD LOSE ITS GKAVI- 
TY. — THE TOWER OP BABEL. — THE KNOWN VELOCITY OF 
SOUND AFFORDS THE MEANS OP CALCULATING DISTANCES. — 
THE SOUND OF THE WOODMAN's AXE. — AN EXCURSION TO 
OVERTON WELL. — AN EXPERIMENT TO ASCERTAIN ITS DEPTH. 
— MOTION — ABSOLUTE AND RELATIVE. — UNIFORM, ACCELE- 
RATED, AND RETARDED VELOCITY. — THE TIMES OF ASCENT 
AND DESCENT ARE EQUAL. — VIS INERTIA. — FRICTION. — AC- 
TION AND REACTION ARE EQUAL AND IN OPPOSITE DIREC- 
TIONS. — MOMENTUM DEFINED AND EXPLAINED. — THE THREE 
GREAT LAWS OF MOTION. 

It was about two o'clock, when Mr. Twaddleton, in com- 
pany with Mr. and Mrs. Seymour, joined the children on 
the lawn. 

" Tom," said the father, " are you prepared to commence 
the proposed examination?" 

"Quite ready, papa." 

" Then you must first inform me," said Mr. Seymour, tak- 

13 



14 



PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 



ing the ball oat oi Rosa's hand, "why this ball falls to the 
ground as soon as I withdraw from it the support of my 
hand." 

" Because every Jieamy body that is not supported must of 
course fall." 

" And every light one also, my dear ; but that is no answer 
to my question : you merely assert the fact, without explain- 
ing the reason." 

" Oh ! how. I understand you ; it is owing to the force of 
gravity ; the earth attracts the baU, and the consequence is 
that they both come in contact; is not that right?" 

" Certainly ; but if the earth attract the baU, it is equally 
true that the ball must attract the earth ; for you have, doubt- 
less, learned that bodies mutually attract each other ; tell me, 
therefore, why the earth should not rise to meet the baU?" 

" Because the earth is so much larger and heavier than the 
baU." 

"It is, doubtless, much larger; and since the force of 
attraction is in proportion to the mass, or quantity of matter 
you cannot be surprised at not perceiving the earth rise to 
meet the ball, the attraction of the latter being so infinitely 
small, in comparison with that of the former, as to render its 
effect whoUy nugatory; but, with regard to the earth being" 
heavier than the ball, what wiU you say when I tell you that, 
in the ordinary acceptation of the term, it cannot be said 
to have any weight ?" 

"No weight at all?" 

Tom begged that his father would explain to him how it 
could possibly be that the earth should not possess any weight. 

" Weight, my dear boy, you will readUy understand, can 
be nothing more than an effect arising out of the resisted 
attraction of a body for the earth : you have just stated that 
all bodies have a tendency to fall, in consequence of the at- 
traction of gravitation ; but if they be supported, and pre- 
vented from approaching the earth, either by the hand or any 
other appropriate means, this tendency wiU be felt, and is 
called weighV 



MADE SCIKNCE IN EARNEST. 15 

Tom understood this explanation, and observed, that " since 
attraction was always in proportion to the quantity of mat- 
ter, so, of course, a larger body must be more powerfully 
attracted, or be heavier, than a smaller one." 

"Magnitude, or size, my dear, has nothing whatever to do 
with quantity of matter : wiU not a small piece of lead weigh 
more than a large piece of sponge ? In the one case, the par- 
ticles of matter may be supposed to be packed in a smaller 
compass ; in the other, there must exist a greater number of 
pores or interstices." 

" I understand aU you have said," observed Louisa, " and 
yet I am unable to comprehend why the earth cannot be said 
to have any weight." 

"Cannot you discover," answered Mr. Seymour, "that 
since the earth has nothing to attract it, it cannot have any 
attraction to resist, and consequently, according to the ordi- 
nary acceptation of the term, it cannot be correctly said to 
possess weight? although I confess that, when viewed in 
relation to the solar system, a question will arise upon this 
subject, since it is attracted by the sun." 

The children declared themselves satisfied with this expla- 
nation, and Mr. Seymour proceeded to put another question : 
" Since," continued he, " you now understand the nature of 
that force by which bodies fall to the earth, can you teU me 
the degree of velocity with which thej' "^all?" 

Tom asserted that the weight of the body, or its quantity 
of matter, and its distance from the surface of the earth, must, 
in every case, determine that circumstance; but Mr. Sey- 
mour excited his surprise by saying that it would not be 
influenced by either of those conditions ; he informed them, 
for instance, that a cannon-ball and a marble would fall 
through the same number of feet in a given time, and that, 
whether the experiment were tried from the top of a house 
or from the summit of St. Paul's, the same result would be 
obtained. 

"I am quite sure," exclaimed Tom, " that in the Conversa- 
tions on Natural PMlosopTiy, it is positively stated, thai 



IG PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

attraction is always in proportion to the qtumtity of mat- 
ter:^ 

" Yes," observed Louisa, " and it is moreover asserted, tliat 
tlie attraction diminishes as the distances increase" 

Mr. Seymour said, that he perceived the error under which 
his cMdren labored, and that he would endeavor to remove 
it. " You cannot, my dears," continued he, " divest your 
minds of that erroneous but natural feeling, that a body 
necessarily falls to the ground without the exertion of any 
force : whereas, the gi-eater the quantity of matter, the greater 
must be the force exerted to bring it to the earth : for in- 
stance, a substance which weighs a hundred pounds wUl 
thus require just ten times more force than one which only 
weighs ten poimds ; and hence it must follow, that both will 
come to the ground at the same moment ; for although, in 
the one case, there is ten times more matter, there is, at the 
same time, ten times more attraction to overcome its resist- 
ance ; for you have already admitted that the force of attrac 
tion is always in proportion to the quantity of matter. Now 
let us only for an instant, for the sake merely of argument, 
suppose that attraction had been a force acting -without any 
regard to quantity of matter, is it not evident that, in such a 
case, the body containing the largest quantity would be the 
slowest in falling to the earth?" 

" I understand you, papa," cried Tom : " if an empty 
wagon traveled four miles an hour, and were afterward so 
loaded as to have its weight doubled, it could only travel at 
the rate of two miles in the same period, provided that in 
both cases the horses exerted the same strength." 

" Exactly," said Mr. Seymour ; " and to follow up your 
illustration, which is not a bad one, it is only necessary to 
state, that Nature, like a considerate master, al>vays appor- 
tions the number of horses to the burden that is to be 
moved, so that her loads, whatever may be their weight, 
always travel at the same rate; or, to express the fact in 
philosophical instead of figurative language, gravitation, or 
the force of the earth's attraction, always increases as the 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 17 

quantity of matter, and, consequently, that heavy and Jight 
bodies, when dropped together from tlie same altitude, must 
come to the ground at the same instant of time." 

Louisa had listened with great attention to this explana- 
tion ; and although she thoroughly understood the argument, 
yet it appeared to her at variance with so many facts with 
which she was acquainted, that she could not give implicit 
credence to it. 

" I think, papa," said the archly smiling girl, " I could over- 
turn tliLs fine argument by a very simple experunent." 

"Indeed, Miss Skeptic: then pray proceed; and I think 
we shall find that the more strenuously you oppose it the 
more powerful it wiU become ; but let us hear your objec- 
tions." 

" I shall only," replied she, " drop a shilling and a piece of 
paper from my hed-room window upon the lawn, and request 
that you will observe which of them reaches the ground fii'st ; 
if I am not much mistaken, you will find that the coin wiU 
strike the earth before the paper has performed half its jour- 
ney." 

Tom appeared perplexed, and cast an inquiring look at his 
father. 

" Come," said Mr. Seymour, " I wUl perform this experi- 
ment myself, and endeavor to satisfy the doubts of our young 
skeptic ; but I must first take the opportunity to observe that 
I am never better pleased than when you attempt to raise 
difficulties in my way, and I hope you will always express 
them without reserve." 

" Here, then, is a penny-piece ; and here," said Tom, " is 
a piece of paper." 

" Which," continued Mr. Seymour, " we will cut into a 
corresponding shape and size." TMs having been accom- 
pl'ished, he held the coin in one hand and the paper disk in 
the other, and dropped them at the same instant. 

" There ! there !" cried Louisa, with an air of triumph ; 
" the coin reached the ground long before the paper." 

Mr. Seymour allowed that there was a distinct interval in 



18 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOKT 

favor of the penny-piece ; and he proceeded to explain the 
cause of it. He stated that the result was not contrary to 
the law of gravitation, since it arose from the interference of 
a foreign body, the air, to the resistance of which it was to 
be attributed : and he desu-ed them to consider the particles 
of a falling body as being under the influence of two opposing 
forces, — gi'avity and the air's resistance. Louisa argued, 
that the air could only act on the surface of a body, and as 
this Avas equal in both cases (the size of the paper being exact- 
ly the same as that of the penny-piece), she could not see why 
the resistance of the air should not also be equal in both cases. 

" I admit," said Mr. Seymour, " that the air can only act 
upon the surface of a falling body, and this is the very reason 
of the paper meeting with more resistance than the coiu ; 
for the latter, from its greater density, must contain many 
more particles than the paper, and upon which the air cannot 
possibly exert any action ; whereas almost every particle of 
the paper may be said to be exposed to its resistance, the fall 
of the latter must therefore be more retarded than that of 
the former body." 

At this explanation Louisa's doubts began to clear off, and 
they were ultimately dispelled on Mr. Seymour performing a 
modification of the above experiment ia the following man- 
ner. He placed the disk of paper in close contact with the 
upper part of the coin, and, in this position, di'opped them 
from his hand. They both reached the ground at the same 
instant. 

" Are you now satisfied, my dear Louisa ?" asked her fa- 
ther : " you perceive that, by placing the paper in contact 
with the coin, I screened it from the action of the air, and 
the result is surely conclusive." 

" Many thanks to you, dear papa ; I am perfectly satisfied, 
and shall feel less confident for the future." Tom was de- 
lighted ; for, as he said, he could now understand why John's 
parachute descended so deliberately to the ground ; he could 
also explain why feathers, and other Hght bodies, floated in 
the air. " "Well then," said Mr, Seymour, " having settled 



MADE SCIENCE EST EARNEST. 19 

this knotty point, let ns proceed to the other question, viz. ; 
' that a body will fall with the same velocity, during a given 
number of feet, from the baU of St. Paul's as from the top of 
a house.' You maintain, I believe, that, since the attraction 
of the earth for a body diminishes as its distance fi-om it in- 
creases,* a substance at a gi'eat height ought to fall more 
slowly than one which is dropped from a less altitude." 

Neither Tom nor Louisa could think otherwise. Mr. Sey- 
mour told them that, in theory, they were perfectly correct, 
but that, since attraction acted from the center, and not 
from the surface of the earth, the difference of its force could 
not be discovered at the small elevations to which they could 
have access : " for what," said he, " can a few hundred feet 
be in comparison with four thousand miles, which is the dis- 
tance from the center to the surface of our globe? You 
must therefore perceive that, in aU ordinary calculations re- 
specting the velocity of falling bodies, we may safely exclude 
such a consideration." 

"But suppose," said Tom, "it were possible to make the 
experiment a thousand mUes above the earth, would not tlie 
diminished effect of gravity be discovered in that case ?" 

" Undoubtedly ; indeed it would be sensible at a much less 
distance : for instance, if a lump of lead, weighing a thousand 
pounds, were carried up only four miles, it would be found to 
have lost two pounds of its weight." 

" This discussion," observed Mr. Twaddleton, " reminds me 
of a problem that was once proposed at Cambridge, to find 
the elevation to which the Tower of Babel could have been 
raised, before the stones would have entirely lost their gravity." 

"Its solution," said Mr. Seymom*, "would require a con- 



* Gravity, or the tendency of a body to approach the earth, is inversely as 
the square of the distance; that is, if a body be attracted by the earth at a 
certain distance, with a certain force, and be afterwards removed to tmoice the 
distance, it will now be attracted not lialf as much, but only one-fourth as 
much as it was before ; and if it be removed to three times the first distance, 
it will be attracted, not one-third as much, but one-ninth^ as much as before 
four being the square of two, and nine the square of three ; and so on. 



30 PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

eideration wMcli Tom could not possibly understand at pres- 
ent, viz., the iufluence of the centrifugal force.'''' 

" I am fuUy aware of it," replied the vicar, " and in order 
to appreciate that influence, it "would, of course, be necessary 
to take into account the latitude of the place; but, if my 
memory serves me, I think that under the latitude of 30°, 
which, I beheve, is nearly that of the plains of Mesopotamia, 
the height would be somewhere about twenty-four thousand 
miles." ■ • 

Mr. Seymour now desired Tom to inform him, since aU 
bodies faU with the same velocity, what that velocity might be. 

" Sixteen feet ia a second, papa. I have just remembered 
that I had a dispute with a schoolfellow upon that subject, 
and hi which, thanks to Mrs. Marcet, I came off victorious, 
and won twelve marbles." 

"Then let me tell you, my fine fellow, that, unless your 
answer exclusively related to ^q first second of time, you did 
not win the marbles fahly ; for, since the force of gravity is 
continually acting, so is the velocity of a fafling body con- 
tinually increasing, or it has what is termed an ' accelerating 
'velocity;'' it has accordingly been ascertained by accurate ex- 
periments, that a body descending from a considerable height 
falls sixteen feet, as you say, ta the first second of time ; but 
three times sixteen in the next ; five times sixteen in the third ; 
and seven times sixteen in the fourth ; and so on, continually 
increasing according to the odd numbers, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, &c. : 
so that you perceive," continued Mr. Seymour, " by observing 
the number of seconds which a stone requhes to descend fi-om 
any height, we can discover the altitude or depth of the place 
in question." 

Louisa and Fanny, who had been attentively listening to 
their father's explanation, interchanged a smile of satisfaction, 
and, puUing Tom toward them, whispered something which 
was inaudible to the rest of the party. 

" Come, now," exclaimed Mr. Seymour, " I perceive by your 
looks that you have something to ask of me : is Louisa skep- 
tical again?" 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. SI 

" Oil dear no," replied Tom ; " Louisa merely observed that 
we might now be able to find out the depth of the village 
well, about which we have all been very curious ; for the gar- 
dener has told us that it is the deepest in the kingdom, and 
was dug more than a hundred years ago." 

Mr. Seymour did not believe that it was the deepest in the 
kingdom, although he knew that its depth was considerable ; 
and he said that if Mr. Twaddleton had no objection, they 
should walk to it, and make the proposed experiment. 

" Objection ! my dear Mr. Seymour, when do I ever object 
to afford pleasure to my httle playmates, provided its in- 
dulgence be harmless ? much less when it is associated with 
instruction. The old adage tells us that ' Truth lies at the 
bottom of a well,' so let us proceed at once to invade her re- 
treat, and extort her secrets ; and on our return I hope you 
will favor me with a visit at the vicarage. I have some an- 
tiquities which I am anxious to exhibit to yourself and Mrs. 
Seymour." Tom and Eosa each took the vicar's hand, and 
Mr. and Mrs. Seymour followed with Louisa and Fanny. The 
village well was about half a mUe distant ; the road to it led 
through a delightfol shady lane, at the top of which stood the 
vicarage-house. Mr. and Mrs. Seymour and her daughters 
had lingered in then- way to collect botanical specimens ; and 
when they had come up to Tom and the vicar, they found them 
seated on the trunk of a newly felled oak in deep discourse. 

"What interests you, Tom?" said Mr. Seymour, who per- 
ceived, by the inquiring and animated countenance of the boy, 
that his attention had been excited by some occurrence. 

" I have been watching the woodman, and have been sur- 
prised that the sound of his hatchet was not heard until some 
time after he had struck the tree." 

"And has not Mr. Twaddleton explained to you the reason 
of it?" 

" He has," replied Tom, " and he tells me that it is owing 
to sound traveling so much more slowly than light." 

" You are quite right ; and, as we are upon an expedition 
for the purpose of measuring depths, it may not be amiss to 



29 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOKT 

inform you that this fact furnishes another method of calcu- 
lating distances." 

The party seated themselves upon the oak, and Mr. Seymour 
proceeded : — " The stroke of the axe is seen at the moment 
the woodman makes it, on account of the immense velocity 
with which hght travels ; (1*) but the noise of the blow will 
not reach the ear until some time has elapsed, the period vary- 
ing, of course, in proportion to the distance, because sound 
moves only at ihe rate of 1142 feet in a second, or about 13 
miles in a minute: so that you perceive, by observing the 
time that elapses between the fall of the hatchet and the 
sound produced by it, we can ascertain the distance of the 
object." 

Mr. Seymour fixed his eye attentively on the woodman, 
and, after a short pause, declared that he was about half a 
quarter of a mile distant. 

"Why, how could you discover that?" cried Louisa; "you 
had not any watch in your hand." 

" But you might have perceived that I placed my finger on 
my wrist, and, as my pulse beats about 75 strokes in a minute,t 
I was able to form a tolerable estimate of the interval, although 
I confess that it is a very rough experiment, but sufliciently 
accurate for the purpose of illustration. In the same manner, 
we can readily ascertain the distance of a thunder-cloud, or 
that of a vessel at sea firing a cannon. If we do not hear the 
thunder till half a minute after we see the hghtning, we are 
to conclude the cloud to be at the distance of six miles and a 
half. But let us proceed to the well." 

After a walk of a few minutes, the party reached the place 
of destination. On their arrival, Mr. Seymom- inquked who 
would count the time. 

" Be that ofiice mine," said Mr. Twaddleton, as he extracted 
a large silver time-piece from the dark abyss of his watch- 
pocket ; " and let Tom," continued he, " find a pebble." 

* These figures refer to the additional notes at the end of the work. 
+ The pulse was the measure of time used by Galileo in his celebrated ox 
periments. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 23 

" Here is one," cried Louisa. 

" Very well : now, then, how will you proceed?" asked Mr. 
Seymour. 

" I shaU drop the stone," replied Tom, " into the well, and 
observe how many seconds it wLQ be before it touches the 
water, and I shaU then set down the number of feet it wiU fall 
in each second, and add up the numbers." 

" That," said Mr. Seymour, " would certainly accomplish 
your object ; but I can give you a neater, as well as a shorter 
rule for performing the sum ; you shall, however, first work it 
in your own way; — ^but you have not yet informed me how 
you propose to ascertain the moment at which the stone 
reaches the water." 

" By the sound, to be sure, and you wiU find that a very 
loud one will be produced." 

" K the depth of the well be considerable, such a plan will 
not answer the purpose, since, in that case, there must neces- 
sarily be a perceptible interval between the fall of the stone 
and the sound prgduced by it, as you have just seen exem- 
plified by the woodman, which, unless taken into account, 
will vitiate the result." 

Tom observed that he had not thought of that difficulty, 
and did not know how he could get over it. His father told 
him, that he must look at the surface of the water, and mark 
the moment it was disturbed by the stone. 

" Now, Mr. Twaddleton," said Mr. Seymour, " are you 
ready to count the seconds ?" 

" Quite ready." 

" Then drop the stone." 

" One, — two, — three, — four — " 

" There," said Tom, " it touched the water." 

" And there, there," cried several voices, " what a noise it 
made!" 

'■'• Facilis descensus Averni,'''' exclaimed the vicar; "the 
stone descended in four seconds." 

" Now, my boy, make your calculation." 

Mr. Seymour furnished pencU and paper, and Tom pro- 



24 PHILOSOPHY m SPOET 

ceeded; — '■'■/Sixteen feet for the first second, — I put that 
down." 

" Well," said his father, " and tliree times sixteen for the 
second?" 

" Forty-eigTit^^'' cried Tom, 

"Put it down." 

" Fi'se times sixteen for the third ?" 

" Eighty:' 

" Down with it." 

" And seven times sixteen for the fourth ?" 

" One Tiundred and twelve^ 

" Now, cast up these numbers," said Mr. Seymour. 

'■'■ Two hundred and fifty-six feet,^'' cried Tom, "is the 
depth of the well." 

A shout of delight, from the whole juvenile party an- 
nounced the satisfaction which they felt at the success of 
their first experiment in Natueal Philosophy. 

Louisa observed, that she could not distinguish any inter ■ 
val between the actual contact of the stone with the water 
and the sound which it produced. 

"At so small a distance as two hundred and fifty-six 
feet," said her father, " the interval could not have exceeded 
in duration the fourth part of a second, and was, conse- 
qxiently, imperceptible: we might therefore, in the present 
instance, have accepted the sound as a signal of the stone's 
arrival at the water, without prejudice to the result of the 
experiment." 

Mr. Seymour told his son, that the method which he had 
pursued was unobjectionable when the experiment did not 
extend beyond a few seconds ; but that if a case occurred in 
which a greater space of time were consumed, he would find 
his plan tedious : " Now I will give you a general rule that 
will enable you to obtain the answer in a shorter time with- 
out the details of addition. ' The spaces described ty a fall- 
ing tody increase as the squares of the times increased I 
conclude that you already know that the squa/re of a number 
is the sum obtained by multiplying the number into itself." 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 25 

"Certainly," answered Tom; "the square of four is 16; 
that of 3, 9, and so on." 

"This, then, being the case, you have only to square the 
number of seconds, and then multiply that product by 16, 
being the space described by the falling body in the first 
second, and you will have the required answer: apply this 
rule to the present case ; the stone fell to the bottom in four 
seconds; square this number, 4x4=16; multiply this by 
IG, and we obtain 256." 

" That," said Tom, " is certainly much more simple than 
my method." 

"And it has the advantage," continued Mr. Seymour, 
" of being more portable for the memory." 

"What honors, now, shall we decree to Tom's ball, if 
it instructs us in the first principles of philosophy ? " ob- 
served Mr. Seymour, as he took the ball from Tom's hand, 
and rolling it along the ground, exclaimed, " There it goes, 
performing, as you may perceive, two different kinds of mo- 
tion at the same time : it turns round, or revolves on its axis ; 
and goes straight forward, or, to speak more philosophically, 
performs a reci^7mea?•/ motion." 

Tom said he did not exactly comprehend what was meant 
by the axis. His father, therefore, informed him that the 
axis of a revolving body was an imaginary line, which was 
itself at rest, but about which all its other parts turned or 
rotated. "But," continued he, "can you tell me whether 
you understand what is meant by the word motion ? " 

' ' Your ancient acquaintances, " observed Mr. Seymour, ' ' en- 
tertained some very strange notions touching this said subject 
of motion. If I remember right, Diodorus denied its very 
existence ; but we are told that he did not himself remain un- 
moved when he dislocated his shoulder, and the surgeon kept 
him in torture, while he endeavored to convince him, by his 
own mode of reasoning, that the bone could not have moved 
out of its place. We have, however, at present, nothing to 
do with the ancients ; the philosophers of our own times agree 



20 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

in defining motion to be ' the act of a tody changing its situ- 
ation with regard to any other;'' and you will therefore readily 
perceive that this may actually haj^pen to a body AvhUe it re- 
mains absolutely at rest." 

" Well, that beats all the paradoxes I ever heard," cried 
Tom ; " a body then may be in motion, while it is at rest." 

" Certainly," replied Mr. SejTQOur, " it may be relatively in 
motion, while it is absolutely at rest." 

" How can a body change its place," said Louisa, " except 
by moving?" 

" Very readily," answered her father ; " it may have its rel- 
ative situation changed with respect to surrounding objects.. 
There is your ball, and here is a stone ; has not each of them 
a particular situation with respect to the other ; and by 
moving one, do I not change the relative situation of both ?" 

" I perceive your meaning," said Tom. 

" To prevent confusion, therefore, in our ideas, it became 
necessary to distinguish these two kinds of motion from each 
other by appropriate terms; and, accordingly, where there 
has been an actual change of place, in the common meaning 
of the term, the motion which produced it is termed absolute 
motion; whereas, on the contrary, when the situation has 
been only relatively changed, by an alteration in the position 
of surrounding bodies, the motion is said to be relative." 

" Surely, papa," said Louisa, " no person can ever mistake 
relative for absolute motion; what tlien is the use of such 
frivolous distinctions? When a body really moves, we can 
observe it in the act of changing its place, and no difficulty 
can arise about the matter." 

" Nothing, my dear, is more fallacious than our vision ; the 
earth appears motionless, and the sun and stars seem as if they 
revolved round it; but it is scarcely necessary for me to inform 
you, that our globe is constantly moving with considerable ve- 
locity, whOo the sun remains at rest. Mr. Sadler, the famous 
aeronaut," continued Mr. Sejanour, "informed me that he 
was never sensible of the motion of his balloon in any of his 
excursions, but that, as he ascended into the ah-, the.earth al 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 27 

ways appeared as if sinldag beneath him, and as he descended, 
as if rising to meet liim." 

Mr. Twaddleton here observed that he had heard a very 
curious anecdote, when lie was last in London, which fully 
confirmed the truth of Mr. Sadler's statement. " An aero- 
naut," said he, " whose name I cannot at this moment recol- 
lect, had recently published a map of his voyage, and, instead 
of proceeding in any one line of direction, his track absolutely 
appeared in the form of circles, connected with eacli othei 
like the links of a chain : this occasioned considerable aston- 
isliment, and of course some speculation, until it was at length 
discovered that his apparent journey was to be attributed to 
the rotatory motion of the balloon, which the voyager, not 
feeling, had never saspected." 

" And what," asked Tom, " could have been the reason of 
Ids not having felt the motion ?" 

His father explained to liim, that we are only conscious of 
being in motion when the conveyance in which we are placed 
suffers some impediment in its progress. " If," said he, " you 
were to close your eyes, when sailing on calm water, with a 
steady breeze, you would not perceive that you were moving: 
for you could not feel the motion, and you could only see it 
by observing the cliange of place in the different objects on 
the shore; and tlien it would be almost impossible, without 
the aid of reason and experience, to believe that the shore 
itself was not in motion, and that you were at rest. I shall, 
however, be able to explain tliis subject more clearly by an 
optical toy wlucli I have in preparation." 

Mrs. Seymour here repeated the following passage from 
that interesting novel " Anastasius," which she observed was 
beautifully descriptive of the Ulusive appearance to which 
their papa had just referred: 

" The gradually increasing breeze carried us rapidly out of 
the Straits of Ohio. The different objects on the shore — 
mountains, valleys, villages, and steeples- — seemed in swift 
succession, first advancing to meet us, then halting an instant 
alongside our vessel, as if to greet us on our passage, and, 



28 PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

lastly, again gliding off with equal speed ; tUl, launched into 
the open main, we saw the whole line of coast gradually dis- 
solve in distant darkness." 

" That is indeed a beautiful and very apposite illustration," 
said Mr. Seymour; "and I think Louisa wUl now admit 
that it is not quite so easy as she at first imagined to distin- 
guish between Absolute and Relative motion." 

As the children now understood what was meant by the 
term Motion^ their father asked them whether they could 
tell liim what produced it. 

" I can make a body move by various means," answered 
Tom. 

" But they may all be reduced to one," said Mr. Seymour ; 
" viz., some exertion which is caUed Force ; thus the force 
of my hand put your ball iu motion ; while gravitation was 
the force which made it fall to the earth ; and I must, more- 
over, inform you that a body always moves ui the direetion 
of the force which impels it, and with a velocity, or rate of 
motion, which is proportional to its degree or strength ; and, 
were there no other forces in action but that which originally 
produced the motion, the body would proceed onward in a 
right line, and with a uniform velocity forever." 

" Forever ! " exclaimed Louisa. 

" Ay, my dear, forever : but we will discuss that question 
presently ; you must first tell me whether you understand 
what is meant by uniform velocity." 

" I suppose that uniform velocity is that which is regular, 
and of an equal rate throughout." 

"Philosophers," replied her father, "call the motion of a 
body uniform^ when it passes over equal spaces in equal 
times. Now, Tom, it is your turn to answer a question. 
Can you describe the meaning of the terms Accelerated and 
Beta/rded, vaoiionV 

" I conclude that motion is said to be accelerated when it 
moves every moment quicker and quicker, and to be reta/rded 
when it moves slower and slower." 

" You are perfectly right ; and gravity may either act ic 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 29 

occasioning the one or the other ; our experiment at the well, 
this morning, afforded you an example of gravity producing 
a regularly accelerated motion. I did not fully explain the 
fact at the tioae, because I was desirous of avoiding too many 
new ideas at once ; we must win our way slowly and cau- 
tiously through the mazes of philosophy : I will, however, 
now endeavor to give you as clear an explanation as the sub- 
ject will allow. It is, I thiak, evident, that if at the moment 
you dropped the stone from your hand the force of gravity 
could have been suspended, it would have descended to the 
bottom of the well with a uniform velocity ; because there 
could have been notliing either to accelerate or retard its 
motion. But this was not the case, for the power of gravity 
was in constant operation; and, if you keep this fact in 
mind, you will readily understand how the velocity became 
accelerated : for, suppose the impulse given by gi'avity to the 
stone, dm-ing the first instant of its descent, be equal to one^ 
the next instant we shall find that an additional impulse gives 
the stone an additional velocity equal to one^ so that the 
accumulated velocity is now equal to two; the follovsdng 
instant again increases the velocity to three^ and so on, till 
the stone reaches the bottom." 

Mr. Twaddleton observed, the fact might be shortly ex- 
pressed iby saying, that " the effects of preceding impulses 
must be added to subsequent velocities." 

Mr. Seymour then remarked, that the same explanation 
would apply to retarded velocity, "If," said he, "you 
throw a stone perpendicularly upward, the velocity wiU be 
as much retarded, as it was in the other case accelerated, by 
gravity ; the consequence of which is, that it will be exactly 
the same length of time ascending that it was descending." 

"I should have thought the very reverse," cried Louisa, 
" and that it would have fallen quicker than it rose." 

" You have forgotten to take into account the force with 
which the stone is thrown upward, and which is destroyed 
by gravity before it begins to descend." 

" Certainly," answered Louisa ; " but the force given to a 



so PHILOSOPnY IN SPOKT ' 

stone in throwing it upward cannot always be equal to the 
f(n*ce of gravity in bringing it down again ; for the force of 
gravity is always the same, while the force given to the stone 
is entirely optional. I may throw it up gently or otherwise, 
as I please." 

" If you throw it gently," said her father, " it wiU not rise 
high, and gravity will soon bring it down again ; if you throw 
it with violence, it will rise much higher, and gravity will be 
longer in bringing it back to the ground. Suppose, for 
instance, that you throw it with a force that will make it 
rise only sixteen feet ; in that case, you know, it will fall in 
one second of time. Now it is proved by experiment, that 
an impulse requisite to project a body sixteen feet upward 
will make it ascend that height in one second of time ; here, 
then, the times of ascent and descent are equal. But, sup- 
posing it be requu-ed to throw a stone twice that height, the 
force must be proportionally gi-eater. You see, then, that the 
impulse of projection, in throwing a body upward, is always 
equal to the action of the force of gi'avity during its descent ; 
and that it is the gi'eater or less distance to which the body 
rises that makes these two forces balance each other." 

" Thank you, dear papa, for the pains you have taken in 
explaining this subject to us." 

"Nay," replied Mr. Seymour, "bestow your thanks upon 
those to whom they are more justly due ; Mrs. Marcet is enti- 
tled to the merit of this explanation ; for I obtained it from 
her ' Conversations.' Before I quit this subject, I would just 
• observe that, when we come to the consideration of tlie bow 
and arrow, you will, by the application of the law I have 
endeavored to expound, be enabled to ascertain the height to 
which your arrow may ascend, with the same facility as you 
discovered the depth of the well; for, since the times of 
asc«nt and descent are equal, you have only to determine the 
number of seconds which intervene between tl'e instant at 
which the arrow quits the bow to that at Avhich it falls to 
the ground, and, having them, to make the usual calculation. 
But let us proceed to another subject. KoU the ball hither, 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 31 

Tom ; roll the ball hither, I say ! you stand as if you thought 
it would advance to us of its own accord." 

" I know a little better than that, too," cried Tom ; " no 
body can move without the application of some force." 

" Nor stop, either," added Mr. Seymour, " when it is once 
in motion ; for matter is equally indifferent to both rest and 
motion." 

"And yet, papa," cried Louisa, "unfortunately for your 
assertion, the ball stopped just now, and I am sure that no 
force was used to make it do so." 

" And pray. Miss Pert, why are you so sure that no force 
was opposed to its progi'ess ? I begin to fear that my lesson 
has been thrown away upon you, or you would not, surely, 
have concluded so falsely." 

The vicar here interposed, observing that, simple as the 
question might appear to those who had studied it, the fact 
was so contrary to every thing that passed before us, that Mr. 
Seymour ought not to feel any surprise at the skepticism of 
his daughter ; he begged to remind him that the truth, ap- 
parent as it doubtless now was, lay hid for ages before the 
sagacity of Galileo brought it to light. 

Mr. Seymour admitted the justice of this remark, and pro- 
ceeded in his explanation. 

" I think," said he, " you will readily allow that matter 
cannot, in itself, possess any power of changing its condition : 
it can, therefore, no more destroy than it can originate its 
own motion ; when it is at rest, it must ever remain so, un- 
less some force be apphed that can impart to it activity ; and 
when once in motion, it must continue to move untU some 
counteracting force stops it. To beheve otherwise, you must 
suppose that matter possesses in itself a power to alter its con- 
dition, which is perfectly absurd." 

" And yet," said Tom, " when I see my ball or marble stop 
of its own accord, how can you blame me for believing it 
possible?" 

" Your difficulty arises from your ignorance of the exist- 
ence of certain forces which act upon the rolling ball or mar- 



32 PHILOSOPHY ni SPOET 

ble. Its progress, as it rolls along, is impeded and ultimately 
stopped by the rubbing, or friction, occasioned by its passage 
orer the ground ; and this will be greater or less, according 
to the degree of roughness of the surface ; if it be small, the 
ball will continue for a longer time in motion ; you must 
have observed that your marble has always rolled much fur- 
ther on a smooth pavement than on a rough gravel walk." 

" Certainly," said Tom ; " and I well remember, that when 
we played at rmg-taw^ last winter, on the ice, we were 
obliged, for this very reason, to extend the usual boundaries." 

" Exactly so ; and your marble, under such circumstances, 
would run along hke the enchanted bowl of the Dervise, in 
the Arabian Nights. Is it not evident, then, that the mo- 
tion of a body is stopped by some opposing force ; and that, 
if this could be entu-ely removed, the body would continue 
to move forever ?" 

" What a provoking thing this friction is !" said Tom ; " it ia 
always interfering with our experiments." 

"Provoking, is it? I fancy," said Mr. Seymour, "that you 
would be much more provoked by the loss of it ; without it 
you could not walk, nor even hold an object in your hands ; 
and yet every thing around you would be in perpetual mo- 
tion, performing one universal and interminable dance." 

" I can readily understand, from what you have said, that, 
if friction were removed, motion might continue ; but pray 
how is it that we should be unable to walk, or to hold any 
thing in our hands ?" inquired Louisa. 

" It is the friction of the ground which, at every step we 
take, prevents the foot from shding back, and thus enables 
ns to push the body forward. Everybody must have felt 
how difficult it is to walk on ice, where the friction is only 
diminished, not entirely removed," answered her father; 
" and as to holding any object," continued he, " it is the fric- 
tion of the body to which we apply our hands that enabtes 
us to hold it firmly." 

" To be sure," exclaimed the vicar ; " why, my boy, yon 
must surely remember, that in ancient combats it was the 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAKNEST. 33 

custom to rub the body with oil, that the adversary might 
not be able to keep his grasp." 

"Well," said Tom, "our houses, I suppose, would re- 
main firm, and we might sit quietly in our chairs, at all 
events." 

" Not eo," replied Mr. Seymour ; " for even granting tliat 
you had houses and chairs, wliich, without the existence ot 
friction would never exist, tlie stability of the structures could 
never be secured; the slightest breath would be sufficient to 
make the stones or bricks slide off from each other, and to 
reduce your dwellings into dancing ruins." 

Tom and Louisa, after some further discussion, both admit- 
ted the justness of the argument ; but, at the same time, would 
have been better satisfied if the fact could have been proved 
by actual experiment. Mr. Seymour told them that the per- 
petual revolution of the earth and heavenly bodies, where no 
friction whatever existed, afforded a proof which ought to 
satisfy them ; and, especially, since it agreed with those views 
which were proved to be true by an examination of what 
took place on the surface of our own globe. 

We wUl, therefore, with the permission of our readers, con- 
sider this point as settled, and proceed with the young philoso- 
phers to the investigation of some other topics connected with 
the doctrine of motion. 

" Since a body at rest," said Mr. Seymour, " can only be 
set in motion, or, when in motion, be brought to rest, by the 
impression of some force, it must follow that it can only 
move in the direction in which such a force may act ; and, 
moreover, that the degree of motion, or the velocity^ must, 
other things being equal, be in proportion to the degree 
of force used." 

" Why, truly," cried the vicar, " my young friends must 
of necessity admit that fact ; for the body, not having any 
wOl of its own, as you say, must needs, if it move at aU, go 
the road it is driven." 

"Yes," added Mr. Seymour, "and it must go with a 
velocity in proportion to the force with which it is driven. 



34 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOKT 

" Doubtless, doubtless," cried the vicar, " you admit that 
also; do you not, my young Mends and playmates?" 

It is bardly necessary to state that the children instantly 
assented to these propositions. The vicar had placed them 
in so clear and popular a point of view, as to be intelligible to 
the lowest capacities. 

" With these admissions, then, my dear children, said their 
father, " I shall have but little difficulty in convincing you 
of the truth of. the other laws by which the direction of 
moving bodies is' governed. At present, however, it is not my 
intention to enter upon this subject : you have some prelimi- 
nary knowledge to acquire before you can understand what 
is termed the Composition and Resolution of Forces.'''' 

" I shall not easily forget," said Louisa, " that matter is 
perfectly passive, and that it can neither put itself in motion 
when at rest, nor stop itself when in motion." 

" This indifference to rest or motion," replied Mr, Seymour, 
" has been termed the Vis Inertim of matter." 

"A very objectionable term — a very puzzling expression," 
exclaimed the vicar, " to denote a mere state of passive in- 
difference by the word Fis, or power, does appear to me, who 
have been in the habit of connecting words with ideas, as ex- 
cessively absurd." 

" I allow," said Mr. Seymour, " that the simple word Iner- 
tia would have been preferable ; but we are bound to receive 
an expression which has been long current. I suppose, how- 
ever, you know that the addition of Vis originated with 
Kepler, who, like my boy Tom, could not help thinking that 
the disposition of a body either to maintain or resist mo- 
tion indicated something very hke power; but we wiU not 
waste our time upon verbal disquisitions, although I cannot 
part with you, my dear vicar, witliout reminding you that 
there is ample classical authority for this apparent contradic- 
tion of terms. The connecting two ideas, which at first 
sight appear opposed to each other, constituted a figure of 
speech much used both by the Greeks and Romans." 

"Unquestionably," said the vicar: "Euripides delighted in 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 35 

it, and that was a sufficient reason for Aristophanes to satirize 
it. Horace, too, has given us several examples of it, as '•In- 
saniens Sapientia^^ '•Strenua Inertia!^ and in our own times 
we hear of lawyers talking of ''Long Briefs P " 

" It is clear," contiuued Mr. Seymour, " that matter, at rest, 
resists being put iu motion ; the degi"ee of that resistance is 
always in proportion to the- degree of force applied to put it 
in motion ; or, to speak more philosophically, that Action and 
Reaction are equal^ and in opposite directions^ 

"You surely do not mean to say," exclaimed Tom, "*that 
if I strike my marble, the marble strikes my hand with the 
same force in return ?" 

" Precisely ; that is my meaning." 

"What!" cried Louisa, "if a man strikes another on the 
the face with his hand, do you sei'iously raaiutain that both 
parties suffer the same pain ?" 

" Oh, no, no," said Tom, " papa can never iutend to say 
that ; I am quite sure, if it were the case, Mr. Pearson would 
not be so fond of boxmg our ears." 

Mr. Seymour answered this question, by observing that, 
if the hand possessed the same degree of feeling as the face, 
they would both suffer equally under the conffict. "If," 
continued he, " you strike a glass bottle with an iron hammer, 
the blow will be received by the hammer and the glass ; and 
it is quite immaterial whether the hammer be moved against 
the bottle at rest, or the bottle be moved against the hammer 
at rest, yet the bottle will be broken, though the hammer be 
not injured; because the same blow which is sufficient to 
shiver the glass is not sufficient to break or injure the lump 
of iron. In like manner, the blow that is sufficient to paiu 
your sensitive face, and make your ears tingle, will not occasion 
the least annoyance to the obtuse hand of your preceptor. 
The operation of this law," continued Mr. Seymour, " wiU be 
exemphfied in every step of our progress. When the marble, 
as it roUs along, strikes any obstacles, it receives, in return, a 
corresponding blow, which wiU be found to mfluence its sub- 
sequent direction. Tlie peg of the top, as it rubs on the 



36 PHILOSOPHT IN SPORT 

groTmd, is as much influenced by the friction, as if a force 
were actually applied to it when iri a state of rest ; and when 
we consider the forces by which the kite is made to ascend 
into the an*, yon will learn, from the same law, the natiu'e of 
that advantage which you derive from running with it." 

The vicar observed that the subject of Momentum might be 
introduced, and advantageously •explained, upon this occasion. 

"Momentum," said Tom; "and pray what is that?" 

" It is a power-," replied his father, " intimately connected 
witfe motion ; and, therefore, as your friend, the vicar, justly 
remarks, may be very properly introduced before we quit 
that subject. It is the force with which a body ia motion 
strikes against another body." 

" That," observed Tom, " must of course depend upon the 
velocity of the body's motion." 

" Undoubtedly, my dear ; the quicker a body moves, the 
greater must be the force with which it would strike agauist 
another body ; but we also know that the heavier a body is, 
the gi'cater also will be its force ; so that momentum^ you 
perceive, must have a relation to both these cu-cumstances, 
viz., velocity and weight ; or, to speak more correctly, the 
momentum of a body is composed of its quantity of matter 
multiplied hy its quantity of motion : for example, if the 
weight of a body be represented by the number 3, and its 
velocity also by 3, its momentum avlU be represented by 
3 X 3 ^ 9 ; so that, in producing momentum, increased velocity 
will alway compensate for deficiency of matter, and a Hght 
body may thus be made a more effective force than a heavy 
one, provided that its velocity be proportionally increased ; 
thus, a small ball, weighing only two pounds^ and moving at 
the rate ot fim Tiurodred feet in a second, will produce as 
much effect as a eannon-baU of ten pounds in weight, pro- 
vided it moved only at the rate of one hundred feet in the 
same time." 

" Let me see," cried Tom, " whether I understand your 
statement. We must multiply, as you say, the weight by the 
velocity; the weight of the small ball you state at two 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 37 

pounds, and it travels at the rate of five hundred feet in a 
second; then its momentum must be a thousand. The 
weight of the great ball is ten pounds, its velocity only a 
hundi'ed feet, then its momentum must also be a thousand ; 
because, in both cases, the sums multiphed into each other 
will give the same product." 

" Exactly : and thus you perceive that the small baU be- 
comes an exact balance to the larger one ; the first making 
out in motion what it wanted in matter, while the latter 
makes out in matter what it wanted in motion. I wish you 
to keep this law of Momentum in your remembrance ; upon 
it depends the action of all the mechanical powers^ as they 
. are termed ; and which I shall hereafter more fuUy explain." 

" I have heard," said Louisa, " that a feather might bo 
made to produce as much havoc as a cannon-shot, if you 
could give it sufiicient velocity." 

" Unquestionably : but there is a practical difficulty iu the 
attempt, from the resistance of the an-, which increases, as 
you have aheady seen in the expei-iment of the paper and 
penny-piece (p. 46), as the weight of a body decreases : and 
which explains the adage, that '•Hercules cannot throw a 
feather further than a child.'' Were it not for this resistance 
of the au*, a haUstone falling from the clouds would acquii-e 
such a momentum, from its accelerated velocity, as to descend 
like a bullet from a gun, and destroy every thing before it ; 
even those genial showers which refresh us in the spring and 
summer months, would, without such a provision, destroy 
the herbage they are so well calculated to cherish. Had the 
elephant possessed the mobility of the bee^-le, it would have 
overturned mountains. From this view of the subject of 
Momentum," continued Mr. Seymom*, "you wiU easUy un- 
derstand why the immense batteiing-rams, used by the an- 
cients iu the art of war, should have given place to cannon- 
balls of but a few pounds in weight. Suppose, for example, 
that the battering-ram of Yespasian weighed 100,000 pounds, 
and was moved, we wiU admit, with such a velocity, by 
strength of hands, as to pass through 20 feet in one second 



38 



PUILOSOPHY IN SrORT 



of time, and that this "was found sufficient to demolish the 
walls of Jerusalem, can you tell me mth what velocity a 32-. 
pounder must move to do the same execution ?" 

" I will try," said Tom, as he took out his pencil and pocket- 
book, to make the calculation. 

" Stop, I think you will hardly succeed without my guid- 
ance," said his father ; " let us therefore work it out togetlier : 
now you will readily perceive that we must in the first place 
determine the mementum of the hattering-ram, by multiply- 
ing its weight by its velocity, or in other words by the space 
which it passes over in a second of time." 

" That I understand." 

" Very well," continued Mr. Seymour, " its weight was 
100,000 pounds, and its velocity such as to carry it through 
20 feet in a second of time ; now make the requked calcula- 
tion." 

" I have done it— it is 200,000." 

" You are quite right ; now if this momentum, which must 
also be that of the cannon-baH, be divided by the weight ot 
that ball, viz., 32 poimds, we shall obtain the velocity required, 
which is 62,500 feet." 




CENTEK OP GRAVITY. 39 



CHAPTER II. 

THE CENTERS OF MAGNITtTDE AND GRAVITY, — THE POINT OP 

SUSPENSION. — THE LINE OP DIRECTION. THE STABILITY OP 

BODIES, AND UPON WHAT IT DEPENDS. METHOD OF FIND- 
ING THE CENTER OP GRAVITY OP A BODY. — THE ART OP 

THE BALANCER EXPLAINED AND ILLUSTRATED. WALKING 

ON STILTS. — VARIOUS BALANCING TOYS. 

" In the first place," said Mr. Seymour, " can you teU me, 
Tom, what is meant by the center of gravity ? " 

" Its central point," answered the boy. 

"Certainly not; the central point is termed its center of 
magnitude, not that of gravity ; and it is only when a body 
is' of uniform density and regidar figure, that these centers 
of magnitude and gravity coincide, or fall in the same 
spot." 

"I now remember that the center of gravity is that point 
about which all the parts of a body exactly balance each 
other." 

" Have all bodies, whatever may be their shape, a center 
of gravity ? " asked Louisa. 

"tJndoubtedly." 

" And you say that every body will fall if this point is not 
supported?" 

"Infallibly. And now, Tom," said Mr. Seymour, "can 
you tell me what is meant by the line of direction?" 

The young philosopher was unable to answer this question, 
and his father therefore informed him, that if a perpendicular 
line were drawn from the center of gravity of a body to the 
center of the earth, such a line would be termed the line of 



40 



rniLosoPuv in spokt 



direction ; along Avhieli every body, not snpported, endeav- 
ors io fall ; and he Avas also inlorraed that, if this said line 
fell -ttithiu the base of a body, sneh a body was snre to stand ; 
bnt never otherAAise. 

Louisa observed that she was not quite sure she under- 
stood her papa's meaning, and therefore begged for further 
explanation. 

'• I Avill exemplify it then," replied ATr. Seymour, " by a 
drawing. Fig. 10 represents a load of stones in a cart moving 
upon the sloping road c d e : this load being low down in the 
cai't, B mtII represent its 



Fig. IL 



Fig. 10. 




center of gravity, and 
B F its Mne of direction, 
Avhieh, you perceive, falls 
much within the support- 
ing or lower wheel g : and 
there cannot, therefore 
be any danger of such a 
cai't being overtm-ned ; 
bnt in fig. 11 the center 
of gravity is raised from 

its former position to n, and h i is now the hne of direction ; 
which, falling without the base, or wheel k, the load will not 
be supported, and must consequently fall. These figures," 
added Mr. Seymour, "wiU also explain a fact which yon 
must have fi-equently observed, that a body is stable or firm 
in proportion to the breadth of its. base ; hence the ditficulty 
of sustauiing a tall body, like a walking-stick, npon it^s nar- 
row base ; or that of balancing a hoop upon its edge, or a 
top upon its point ; wlnle, on the contrary, it is almost im- 
possible to npset the cone or the pryamid, since in the latter 
cases, the line of direction falls within the middle of the base, 
the center of gravity of the body being necessarily low." 

" I suppose," observed Louisa, " that tins is the reason why 
carriages, when too much loaded, are so apt to upset." 

" Say, when too much loaded on their tops, and yon wQl 
be ]"ight. As you now, I trust, understand tliis part of tho 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAENEST. 41 

subject, let us proceed a step further : if you take any 
body, with a view to suspend it, is it not evident tliat if 
it be suspended by tiiat point in which the center of gravity 
Ls situated, it must remain at rest in any position indiffer- 
ently?" 

"1 thought," said Tom, " we liad already settled that ques- 
tion." 

" True, my dear boy ; but there is another question of great 
importance arising out of it, and wMch you liave not yet 
considered: teU me, should the body be suspended on any 
other point, in what position it can rest ?" 

" I do not exactly understand the question." 

"There are," rej)Ued his fether, "only two positions in 
which it could rest, either where the center of gravity is 
exactly aljove^ or exactly helow^ the point of suspension ; so 
that, in short, this point sliaU be in the line of OArection, 
Where the point of suspension Ls liaUw the center of gravity, 
it is extremely difficult to balance or support a tall body by 
such a method, because the center of gravity Ls always en- 
deavoring to get under the point of support. Look at this 
diagram, and you will readUy comprehend my meaning. 
K Ls the center of gravity of the diamond-shaped figure, which 
may be supported, or balanced, on a jiin passing through it at 
M, as long as the center of gravity k Ls immedi- 
ately over the jjoint of suspension m ; but if thiat 
center Ls removed in the slightest degree, either 
to the right or left of its jjlace k, the body wiU no 
longer retain its erect position i k m, but it aviU 
revolve upon m, and place itself in the situation 
indicated by the dotted lines beneath the poLnt 
M, and its center of gravity will now be removed 
to N, directly uruler m, and in the hne k l, 
which, as you well know, Ls the line of direction. 
Have I rendered myself intelligible ?" 

" I understand it j^erfectly," answered Tom. 

"And (lo yon also, my dear Louisa?" 

Louisa's answer was equally satisfactory, and 




42 



PHILOSOPHY EST SPOET 



Mr. Seymour went on to state that the information they had 
now acquired would enable them to ascertain the situation 
of the center of gravity of any plane surface which was port- 
able, notwithstanding it might possess the utmost irregularity 
of shape. 

" You shall, for example," continued he, " find the center 
of gravity in your Mte." 

"I cannot say," observed Tom, "how I should set 
about it." 

" Well, fetch your kite and I will explain the method." 

Tom soon produced it, and the tail having been removed, 
Mr. Seymour proceeded as follows : 

" I now," said he, " suspend the kite by the 
loop at its bow, and since it is at rest, we 
know that the center of gravity must be 
exactly below the point of suspension; if^ 
therefore, we draw a perpendicular line from 
that point, which may be easily done by a 
plumb-liae, with a weight attached to it, such 
a line wiQ represent the line of direction (as 
indicated by a b in fig. 13)." 

" It is clear enough," said Tom, " that the 
center of gravity must Me in the line a &, but 
how are we to find in what part of it ?" 

" By suspending the kite in another direction," answered 
Mr. Seymour, who then hung it up in the position repre- 
sented at fig. 14, "and then by 
drawing another perpendicular 
from the new point of suspension." 

" The cejiter of gravity," said 
Louisa, " wlU. in that case be in the 
line c d, as it was before in that of 
a &." 

"In both the lines!" exclaimed 
Tom, vsdth some surprise ; " it can- 
not be in two places." 

"And therefore," added Mr. 




Fig. 14 




MADE SCIENCE IN EAENEST. 43 

Seymour, " it must be in that point in whicli the lines meet 
and cross each other;" so saying, he marked the spot g 
"with his pencil, and then told his little scholars that he 
would soon convince them of the accuracy of the principle. 
He accordingly placed the head of his stick upon the pencil 
mark, and the kite was fomid to balance itself with great 
exactness. 

" True, papa," said Tom," " that point must be the center 
of gravity, for aU the parts of the kite exactly balance each 
other about it." 

" It is reaUy," observed Louisa, " a very simple method of 
finding the center of gravity." 

" It is," said Mr. Seymour ; " but you must remember that 
it wiU only apply to a cei'tain description of bodies : when 
they are not portable, and will not admit of this kind of 
examination, their centers of gravity can only be ascertained 
by experiment or calcidation, in which the weight, density, 
and situation of the respective materials must be taken into 
the account. Having proceeded thus far, you have next to 
learn that the center of gravity is sometimes so situated as 
not to be within the body, but actually at some distance 
fi-om it." 

"Why, papa!" exclaimed Tom, "how can that possibly 
happen ?" 

" You shall hear. The center of gravity, as you have just 
said, is that point about which aU the parts of a body bal- 
ance each other ; but it may so happen that there is a vacant 
space at this point. "Where, for example, is the center of 
gravity of this ring ? Must it not be in the space which the 
ring encircles ?" 

" I think it must," said Tom ; " and yet how can it be 
ever supported without touching the ring?" 

" That point cannot be supported," answered his father, 
" unless the ring be so held that the line of direction shall 
fall within the base of the support, which wiU be the case 
whether you poise the ring on the tip of your finger, or 
suspend it by a string, as represented in the figures which I 



44 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOKT 

have copied from the ' Conversations on 
Natural Philosophy.' I need scarcely 
add, that it will be more stably sup- ^ 
ported in the latter position, because 
the center of gravity is below the 
point of suspension; whereas in the 
former the base is extremely narrow, 
and it will, consequently, require aU the address of the balan- 
cer to prevent "the center of gravity from falling beyond it. 
As you are now in possession of aU the leading principles upon 
which the operations of the center of gravity depend, I shall 
put a few practical questions to you, in order that I may be 
satisfied you understand them. Tell me, therefore, why a 
person who is fearful of falhng, as, for instance, when he 
leans forward, should invariably put forward one of his feet, 
as you did the other day, when you looked into Overton 
weU?" 

" To increase his base," answered Tom ; " whenever I lean 
greatly forward, I should throw the line of dh'ection beyond 
it, did I not at the same instant put out one of my feet, so as 
to extend my base, and thus to cause the line to continue 
within it." 

"Rightly answered; and, for the same reason, a porter 
with a load on his back leans forward to prevent his burden 
from throwing the line of direction out of tlie base behind. 
So the horse, in drawing a heavy weight, instinctively leans 
forward, in order to throw the whole of his weight as a coun- 
terbalance; and yet," observed Mr. Seymour, "we are in 
the habit of ignorantly restraining him by a bearing-rein, in 
consequence of which he has to call in the aid of his muscles, 
ty which a very unnecessary exhaustion of strength is pro- 
duced. Thus is it that German and French horses draw heavy 
weights with apparently greater ease to themselves, because 
the Germans tie a horse's nose downward^ while the French, 
more wisely, leave them at perfect hberty. But to proceed. 
Did you ever observe the manner in which a woman carries 
a paU of water?" 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 45 

" To be sure," said Tom ; " she always stretches out one 
of her arms." 

" The weight of the paU," contiaued Mr. Seymour, " throws 
the center of gravity on one side, and the woman, therefore, 
stretches out the opposite arm, in order to bring it back again 
into its original situation ; did she not do this, she must, like 
the English draught-horses, exert her muscles as a counter- 
acting force, which would greatly increase the fatigue of the 
operation : but a paU hanging on each arm is carried without 
difficulty, because they balance each other, and the center of 
gravity remains supported by the feet." 

"I see," said Louisa, "that aU you have said about the 
woman and her pad must be true ; but how could she have 
learned the principle which thus enabled her to keep the cen- 
ter of gravity in its proper jdace ?" 

" By experience. It is very unlikely that she should ever 
have heard of such a principle, any more than those peojde 
who pack carts and wagons, and yet make up their loads 
with such accuracy as always to keep the line of direction in, 
or near the middle of the base. But to proceed to another 
example : — have I not frequently cautioned you against jump- 
ing up suddenly in a boat? Can you tell me upon what 
principle such an operation must be attended with danger ?" 

"I suppose," said Tom, "for the very same reason that a 
wagon is more likely to be overturned when its top is too 
heavily laden; it would elevate the center of gravity, and 
thereby render the line of direction liable to be thrown be- 
yond the base, and so upset the boat." 

Mr. Seymour observed, that after this lesson he thought the 
balancing which Tom and Louisa had witnessed at Astley's 
Theater last year, would cease to appear so miraculous. 
Louisa declared that she had now discovered the whole mys- 
tery. 

"You have doubtless perceived," said her father, "that the 
art entirely consists in dexterously altering the center of 
gravity upon every new position of the body, so as constantly 
to preserve the line of du-ection within the base. Rope- 



46 PHILOSOPHT m SPORT 

dancers effect tliis by means of a long pole, the ends of which 
are loaded by weights, and which they hold across the rope. 
If you had paid sufficient attention to then- movements, you 
must have perceived how steadily they fixed theu* eyes on some 
object near the rope, so as to discover the slightest deviation 
of their center of gi-avity to one or the other of its sides, which 
they no sooner detect, than they instantly rectify it by a coun- 
tervailing motion of then' pole, and are thus enabled to pre- 
serve the line of dhection within the narrow base. This very 
same expedient is fi-equently practiced by ourselves ; if we shp 
or stumble with one foot, we naturally extend the opposite arm, 
maldng the same use of it as the rope-dancer does of his pole. 
Many birds, also, by means of their flexible necks, vary the 
position of their center of gravity in the same manner. When 
they sleep, they turn it toward the back, and place it under 
the wing, in order to lay the greatest weight on the point 
above the feet." 

" What an interesting subject this is," cried Louisa, " and 
how many cm-ious things it is capable of explaining !" 

" Indeed is it ; and I shall take an opportunity of pointing 
out several specimens of art which are indebted for their sta- 
bihty to the scientific application of the priaciple we have 
been considering ; — ^but I have now a paradox for you, Tom." 

" Let us hear it, papa." 

" How comes it that a stick, loaded with a weight at the 
upper extremity, can be kept in equihbrio, on the point of the 
finger, with much greater ease than when the weight is near 
the lower extremity ; or, for instance, that a sword can be 
balanced on the finger much better when the hilt is upper- 
most ?" 

" That is indeed strange. I should have thought," replied 
Louisa, " that the higher the weight was placed above the 
point of support, the more readily would the fine of dh'ection 
have been thrown beyond the base." 

"In that respect you are perfectly right; but the balancer 
wiU be able to restore it more easily in one case than in the 
other ; since, for reasons which you wOl presently discover 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAKNEST. 



47 



the greater the circle which a hody describes in falling, the 
less will be its tendency to fall. Look at the sketch which I 
have prepared for the explanation of this fact, and I think you 
will readily comprehend the reason of it. 

" When the weight is at a considerable distance from the 
point of support, its center of gravity, in deviating either on 
one side or the other from a perpendicular du'ection, describes 
a larger circle, as at a, than when the weight is very near the 
center of rotation or the point of support, as at 5. But, in a 
large circle, an arc of any determinate extent, such as an inch, 
for example, describes a curve which deviates much less from 
the perpendicular than if the circle were less ; as may be seen 
by comparing the positions of the sword at d and e ; and the 
sword at d will not have so great a tendency to deviate fur- 




ther from the perpendicular, as that at e ; for its tendency 
to deviate altogether from the perpendicular is greater, ac- 
cording as the tangent to that point of the arc, where it hap- 
pens to be, approaches more to the vertical position. You see' 
then that it is less difficult to balance a tall, than a shorter 
pole ; and it is for the same reason that a person can walk 
with gi-eater security on high than on low stilts." 

" That is very clear,"* said Louisa, "although, before your 
explanation, I always associated the idea of difficulty with 
theu' height." 

" I suppose," added Tom, " that the whole art of walking 
on stilts may be explained by the principles you have taught 



" Undoubtedly it mav • for the equilibrium is preserved by 



48 PHILOSOPnY m SPOKT 

varjiBg the position of the body, and thus keeping the center 
of gra-vity withhi the base." 

" It must be a great exertion," observed Lonisa. 

" Before custom lias rendered it tamiliar ; after which, tnere 
is no more fatigue in walking on stilts than in walking on our 
feet. There is a district in the south of France, near Bour- 
deaus, called the Desert of Landes, which runs along the 
sea-coast between the mouths of the Adoiir and Gironde, 
where all the shepherds are mounted on stilts ; on which they 
move "with perfect freedom and astonishing rapidity ; and so 
easily does habit enable them to preserve their balance, that 
they rim, jump, stoop, and even dance, with ease and secu- 
rity."* 

" How very odd !" said Tom ; " what can be their motive 
for such a strange habit ?" 

" Its objects," rephed his lather, " are important : to keep 
the feet out of the water, which, dm-ing the winter, is deep 
on the sands ; and to defend them from the heated sand dur- 
ing the sumiiier ; in addition to which the sphere of vision 
over so perfect a flat is materially increased by the elevatii)n, 
and tlie shepherds are thus enabled to see then- flocks at a 
much greater distance.! They cannot, however, stand per- 
fectly stiU upon their stilts, without the aid of a long staff, 
which they always carry in their hands ; this guards them 
agaiust any accidental trip, and when they wish to be at 
rest, forms a third leg that keeps them steady." 

" I suppose," said Loi\isa, " that the habit of using these 
stilts is acquhed whfle they are very young." 

" It is, my dear : and it appears the smaUer the boy is, the 

* stilts also enjoyed for centuries very considerable celebrity in the city ( / 
Namur. The frequent inundations of the Meiise and Sambre, which formerly 
used to flood it, led, doubtless, in the first instance to their employment; but 
that which was originally a necessity, became in the course of time an amuse- 
ment, and one that developed singular features. As far back as the eleventh 
century may be traced the existence of games on stilts, which gradually as- 
sumed a party character ; and the players finally resolved themselves into 
distinct bodies, ready at all times to do battle against each other, even to th» 
peril of life and limb." — Oostello's Tour through the Valley of the Meuga. 

t In Scotland stilts are used to pass rivers. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 49 

liigher are hLs Btilts ; a fact which aifords a practical proof of 
the truth of what I have just stated." 

" The stork is said, in my work on Natural History, to be 
always walking on stilts," said Louisa ; " and yet it does not 
appear to fatigue him." 

" That Ls very true," replied the father ; " but you must 
remember, that nature has furnished the bird with a provi- 
sion, by which the legs are kept extended without any exer- 
tion of the muscles, in the manner of certain strings ; a struc- 
ture which enables it to pass whole days and nights on one 
foot, without the sliglitest fiitigue. If you wiQ visit the cook 
the next time she trusses a fowl, you will at once perceive the 
nature and utility of this structure ; upon bending the legs 
and things up toward the body, you will observe that the 
claws close of their own accord ; now, this is the position of 
the limbs in which th^ bird rests upon its j)€;rch, and in this 
position it sleeps in safety ; for the claws do their oflBce in 
keeping hold of the support, not by any voluntary exertion, 
but by the weight of tlie body drawing the strings tight." 

" But, papa," said Tom, " I tiave yet some more questions 
to ask you on the sutyect of balancing. I am not at all sat- 
iefied about many of the tricks that we saw last year ; in- 
deed, I cannot believe that many of those astomshing feats 
can be explained by the rules you have just given us." 

" I very well know to what you aUude," rephed Mr. Sey- 
mour. " Many singular deceptions are certainly practiced by 
removing the center of gravity from its natural into an arti- 
ficial situation, or by disguising its place ; thus, a cyhnder 
placed upon an inclined surface may be made to run ^^p, in- 
stead of down hOl. I can even appear to balance a paHful ot 
water on the slender stem of a tobacco-pipe ; but I shall be 
enabled to explain the nature of these deceptions by some 
toys which I have x^rovided for your amusement, and which 
I must say you are fully entitled to jjossess, as a reward for 
the clear and satisfactory manner in winch you have this day 
answered my questions. But see ! here comes Mr. Twaddle- 
ton : he would really seem to possess an Instinct that always 



50 PHILOSOPHY m SPOKT 

brings Mm to the Lodge whenever I am preparing some 
amusement for you." 

The vicar smiled as he entered the room, but, unwUling to 
interrupt the lesson, he placed his fore-finger on his lip, and, 
with a significant nod, silently took a seat at the table. The 
children laughed aloud at this cautious demeanor ; and Tom 
exclaimed, " Why, Mr. Twaddleton, our lesson is over, and 
we are going to receive some new toys as a reward." 

" I have here," said Mr. Seymour, as he opened a large 
wooden box, " a" collection of figures, which wUl always raise 
themselves upright, and preserve the erect position ; or regain 
it, whenever it may have been disturbed." 

He then arranged these figures in battalion on the table, 
and striking them fiat by drawing a rod over them, they im- 
mediately started up again, as soon as it was removed. 
" These figures," continued he, " wer5 bought at Paris some 
years ago, under the title of PriLssiansy 

" I declare," exclaimed the vicar, " they remind me of the 
rebellious sphits whom Milton represents as saying that as- 
cent is their natural, and descent their unnatural, motion."* 

"I have seen screens similarly constructed," said Mrs. 
Seymour, " which always rose up of themselves, upon the 
removal of the force that had pressed them down." 

" I will explain their principle," said Mr. Seymour. 

" Suppose we first examine the construction of the figure," 
observed the vicar. " Bless me ! why it is hke the poet Phi- 
lotus of Cos, who was so thin and light, that lead was fasten- 
ed to his shoes to prevent his being blown away."t 

♦ The vicar here alludes to the speech of Moloch (Parad. Lost, b. ii. 1. 75) : 

" That in our proper motion we ascend 
Up to our native seat : descent and fall 
To us is adverse." 

t This story is related by ^lian, who at the same time discredits it, for, 
says he, " how could he carry about a sufficient weight to prevent his being 
blown away, if he were so weak as not to be able to resist the sea breeze '/" 
This matter-of-fact way of regarding a humorous fable is exceedingly amus- 
ing, and reminds the author of a somewhat similar criticism upon an Ameri- 
can story which he had related. A traveler, after a long journey, anxiouslj 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAENEST. 



51 



■"The figure," said Mr. Seymour, "is made of the pith 
oi <he elder-tree, which is extremely light, and is afiixed 
to the half of a leaden bullet ; on account, 
th».refore, of the disproportion between tlie 
w» light of the figure and that of its base, we 
may exclude the consideration of the for- 
mer, and confine our attention to the latter. 
The center of gravity of the hemispherical 
base is, of course, in its axis ; and there- 
fore tends to approach the horizontal plane 
as much as possible, and this can never be 
accompfished, until the axis becomes per- 
pendicular to the horizon. "Whenever the 
curved surface is in any other position, the center of gravity 
is not in the lowest place to which it can descend, as may be 
seen by the diagram which I have 
just sketched. If the axis a 5 be 
removed to c d^ it is evident that 
tlie center of gravity will be raised, 
and that, if left alone, it would un- 
mediately descend again into its original position." 

" I understand it perfectly," said Tom. " When the axis 
a & is perpendicular, the center of gravity will be in its low- 
est point, or as near the earth as it can place itself; when. 





looked about for some inn wherein his jaded horse might have a bait; but all 
in vain, no such accommodation was to be found : his next attempt was to 
find a grassy spot that could afford some pasturage, but in this again he failed. 
In this dilemma his ingenuity suggested a resource, which proves, for the 
thousandth and first time, the truth of the old adage, that " Necessity is the 
mother of Invention ;" drawing from his pocket a pair of green glass spectacles, 
he placed them upon the horse's face, and led him into a carpenter's yard, when 
the deluded animal immediately commenced his meal upon the shavings of 
wood and sawdust The absurdity of this story necessarily excited a general 
laugh, but with one exception : it was evident that one of the company did 
not sympathize with his companions, and after a few minutes of apparent ab- 
straction, he exclaimed, with an air of much solemnity, " I must beg your 
pardon, sir ; but I entertain strong doubts as to the truth of your story, for I 
cannot understand how the spectacles could have been fixed on the horse's 
nose." So true is the saying, that "the prosperity of a jest lies in the ear 
of 7dm who hears itj" 



53 



PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 



therefore, the figiire is pressed down, the center of gravity is 
raised, and, consequently, on the removal of that pressure, it 
■vvill descend to its original position, and thus raise the 
figure." 

'■'■ I see you understand it. Here, then," continued Mr. 
Seymour, " is another toy in further illustration of our sub- 
ject. It consists of a small fig- 
ure, supported on a stand by a ball, 
which is quite loose ; and yet it is 
made to turn and balance itself in 
all dh-ections, always recovering its 
erect position, when the force ap- 
phed to it is removed. The two 
weights, in this case, bring the cen- 
ter of gravity considerably delow 
the point of suspension or support, 
and therefore maintain the figure 
upright, and make it resume its 
perpendicular position, after it has 
been inclined to either side ; for 1he 
center of gravity cannot place itself as low as possible, with- 
out making the figure stand erect." 

" That is very evident," cried Louisa. 

" I shall next exhibit to you," continued Mr. Seymour, " a 
toy that furnishes a very good solution of a popular paradox 
in mechanics ; viz., A iody Jiaving a tendency to fall ty its 
own weight, how to prevent it from/ailing, ly adding to it a 
weight on the same side on which it tends to fall.'''' 

"That is indeed a paradox!" exclaimed Louisa. "The 
next time I see the gardener sinking under the load of a 
heavy sack, I shall desire him to hghten his burden by doub- 
ling its weight." 

" Will you, indeed, Miss Pert ? I do not think so, after you 
have seen the operation of the toy I am now about to exhibit. 
Here, you perceive, is a horse, the center of gravity of which 
would be somewhere about the middle of its body ; it is, 
therefore, very evident that, if I were to place its hinder legs 




MADE SCIENCE IN" EAENEST. 



53 




on the edge of the table, the line 
of direction would fall consid- 
erably beyond the base, and the 
horse mnst be precipitated to 
the ground ; you will, however, 
perceive that there is a stiff wire 
attached to a weight which is 
connected with the body of the 
horse, and by means of such an 
addition, the horse prances with 
perfect security at the edge of 
the precipice ; so that the figure which was incapable of sup- 
porting itself is actually prevented from falling, by adding a 
weight to its unsupported end !" 

The children admitted the truth of this statement, and were 
not immediately prepared to explain it. 

"The weight, indeed, appears to be added on that side; 
but, in reahty, it is on the opposite side," said the vicar. 

"In order to produce the desned effect," observed Mr. 
Seymour, "tlie wne must be bent, so as to throw the weight 
far back, under the table ; by which contrivance, since the 
center of gravity of the whole compound figure is thrown 
into the leaden weight, the hind legs of the horse thus be- 
come the point of suspension, on which the ball may be made 
to vibrate with perfect security." 

" Now I understand it," cried Tom ; " instead of the weight 
supporting the horse, the horse supports the weight." 

" Exactly so. You perceive, therefore, from these few 
examples, that the balancer, by availing himself of such 
deceptions, and combiaing with them a considerable degree 
of manual dexterity, may perform feats, which, at first sight, 
wiU appear ia direct opposition to the laws of gravity. There 
is also anotlier expedient of which the balancer avaUs him- 
self, to increase the wonder of his performances, and that is 
the influence of rotatory motion, whicli, you wiU presently 
see, may be made to counteract the force of gravity." 

" I remember that the mo.st surprising of aU the tricks I 



54 



PHILOSOPHY m SPORT 



witnessed was one, in which a sword was suspended on a 
key, which turned round on the end of a tobacco-pipe ; on 
the top of tlie sword a pewter-plate was, at the same time, 
made to revolve with great velocity." 

" I well remember the trick to which you aUude. The 
rotatory motion prevented the sword from falling, just as 
you will hereafter find the spinning of the top wUl preserve 
it in an erect position. There is also another effect produced 
by rotatory motion, with which it is essential that you 
should become acquainted. You no doubt remember that 
momentum, or the velocity of a body, wiU compensate for 
its want of matter. A number of bodies, therefore, although 
incapable of balancing each other when in a state of rest, 
may be made to do so, by imparting to them different de- 
grees of motion. I beheve that you are now acquainted with 
aU the principles upon which the art of balancing depends; 
and I have httle doubt, should we again witness a perform- 
ance of this kind, that you wiU be able to explain the tricks 
which formerly appeared to you so miraculous." 




MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 



55 




CHAPTER III. 



"I TUTJST," said Mr. Seymour, "that after our late discus- 
sion, the subject of the center of gravity is thoroughly under- 
stood by you all. I have also reason to think that the nature 
and effects of what is termed momentum have been rendered 
intelligible to you." 

"I certainly understand both those subjects," answered 
Tom ; and so thought the rest of the party. 

""WeU, then, I will put your knowledge to the test," ob- 
served Mr. Seymour, "for you shall explain to me the 
mechanism of these Chinese Tumblers." 

Mr. Seymour then proceeded to point out the mechanism 
and movements of the toy in a manner which we shall en- 
deavor to convey to our readers by the aid of the annexed 
engraving. 

"As soon as the figure A is placed upon the step D, in 
the position A B, the quicksilver, by running down the in- 
clined tubes, swings the figure B round to C ; and the center of 
gravity having been thus adjusted, the whole would remain 
at rest but for the contrivance to be next described. Besides 
their connection with the poles by means of pivots, the fig- 
ures are connected with each other by silken strings, which 
keep the figure B steadily in its position, while it traverses 



56 



PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 




the arc until it arrives at 0, when their increased tension has 
the effect of capsizing it, and of thus producing a momen- 
tum, which, by carrying its center of gravity beyond the 
hne of direction, causes it to descend upon the step E, when 
the quicksilver, by again flowing to the lowest part of the 
tubes, places the figures in the same position, only one step 
lower, as tliey were at the commencement of then- action ; 
and thus, by successive repetitions of the same changes, it is 
quite evident that the figures must continue to descend as 
long as any steps remain for then* reception." 

" I understand it perfectly," observed Louisa, with a smile- 
of satisfaction. 

" I need scarcely say," continued Mr. Seymour, " that there 
are some niceties in the adjustment of the min iter parts of 
the apparatus, without which the effect could not be accom- 
plished ; the quantity of quicksilver, for instance, must bear 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 57 

its proper proportion to the weight and dimensions of the 
figure ; and in order to prevent its too rapid passage along 
the inclined tubes, strings are stretched across their iaterior 
to retard the stream. Then, again, some management is ne- 
cessary with regard to the silken strings, in order to insure a 
necessary degree of tension. I will now show you," said he, 
"a single tumbler, which will perform the same motions 
without the assistance of any tubes." 

"But not without quicksilver," observed Tom, "which, 
I suppose, must, in this case, be put iato the body of the 
figure." 

" You are quite right ; and it is made to pass from one ex- 
tremity of its body to the other through a small orifice, which 
has the same effect as the strings in the tubes, in breaking 
the current and preventing its too rapid motion. In all 
other respects, the principle is the same as in the double 
figures." 

Jnst as Mr. Seymour had terminated his exhibition of " Le 
petit Culbuteur^'' the welcome appearance of the vicar in- 
fused fresh spirits into the Uttle party. 

" My dear fi-iends," said Mr. Twaddleton, " I have been 
most provokingly detained by that tiresome etymologist, Jef- 
frey Prybabel. I made many efforts to escape, but I was as 
a fly in a cobweb." 

" At all events, I am glad to find that you have not been 
strangled by Mutes. I knew Prybabel well," observed Mr. 
Seymour, " when he practiced as a Conveyancer in Gray's 
Inn, and went by the nickname of the Riot Act ; for, in 
such horror was he held, that, if a number of persons were 
congregated, his approach was sure to disperse them. But 
what has been the subject of your disconrse ? — was the ety- 
mologist merely airing his vocabulary, or did he propose some 
difficult question for discussion? Be this, however, as it 
may, I will venture to say that he was, as usual, loquacious 
on the subject of mutes — dry on the use of liquids^ and des- 
canting without end on the importance of a termination.'''' 

"Mr. Seymour, I am reaUy and truly ashamed of you; 



58 PHILOSOPHY m SPORT 

pimning under any circumstances is a most vexatious habit, 
but when employed to distort the meaning of language it 
becomes absolutely criminal." 

To turn the subject of this discourse, the vicar proceeded 
to inform Mr. Seymour that he had no sooner escaped from 
the fangs of Prybabel than he encountered Polyphemus. 
Our readers may, perhaps, wonder who this Polyphemus 
could have been ; we must, therefore, inform them that Mr. 
Twaddleton, whose ideas were always tinctured with classi- 
cal coloring, had bestowed this appellation upon the renown- 
ed Dr. DoseaU, the Esculapius of Overton, because, as he 
said, his practice was like the Cyclops, strong hut blind ; and 
Mr. Seymour declared that the similitude was even more 
perfect than the vicar had contemplated, for he observed that 
he certainly fattened upon the unliappy victims who fell with- 
in his clutches. 

With all our respect for the Hberality of Mr. Seymour and 
the kind-heartedness of the vicar, we must, in justice to this 
respectable son of Apollo, express our disapprobation at so 
unprovoked a sarcasm. We acknowledge that Dr. Doseall, 
by the aid of low bows and high charges — of httle aUments 
and large potions, had contrived to secure a very comfortable 
balance on the creditor side of his worldly ledger. We also 
admit, that after the example of other celebrated practition- 
ers, he had one sovereign remedy, which he administered in 
every disease. But what of that ? he was often successful in 
his cures- -that is to say, his patients sometimes recovered 
after they had taken his physic ; and is not that the test con- 
ventionally received in proof of the skiU or ignorance of, 
greater physicians than Dr. Doseall ? IsTor can we persuade 
ourselves into the behef, that a doctor who faithfully adheres 
to one single remedy, is less hkely to be right than those rest- 
less spirits who are eternally coquetting with aU the prepar- 
ations of the Pharmacopoeia without ever remaining steady 
to any one of them. It has been truly remarked that the 
clock which stands still and points steadfastly in one direc- 
tion, is certain of being right twice in the twenty-four hours. 



MADE BCIENCE EST EAENE8T. 59 

while others may keep going continually, and as continually 
going wrong. Being ourselves no doctors, we merely throw 
out this hint for the consideration of those who are learned 
in such matters ; but we beg pardon of our readers for this 
digression. 

" Well," said Mr. Seymour, " I am, at aU events, rejoiced 
to see our Trojan in safety, after such perilous adventures ; 
and I hope that he is now prepared to set sail again with us, 
on a new voyage of discovery. I have been engaged," con- 
tinued he, " in explaining still further the nature of momen- 
tum, and I now propose to exhibit an experiment of a differ- 
ent kind, in order to illustrate the same subject. You, no 
doubt, remember," continued Mr. Seymour, "that velocity 
makes up for weight ; and therefore, although a fluid, as air, 
or water, may, in a state of qmescence, be unable to support 
a body, yet, by giving it a certain velocity, it may acquire a 
sustaining power. I have here several gilded pith-balls, 
through one of which I have run two pins, at right angles to 
each other : the naked points, you perceive, are defended with 
sealing-wax, to prevent any mischief that might arise from 
their accidentally coming into contact with your face. By 
means of this brass tube (the stem of a tobacco-pipe will an- 
swer the same purpose), I shall produce a current of air by 
my breath, and you will observe that the httle ball wiU con- 
tinue to dance, as it" unsupported." 

Mr. Seymour then placed the pith-baU at the end of the 
pipe, and, inserting its other extremity in his mouth, blew 
out the ball, which immediately rose in the air, and contin- 
ued to float about for several seconds : he then drew in his 
breath, and caught it with much addi-ess »n one of its points ; 
and in this manner, alternately floating and catching it, did 
he continue to dehght the wondering group for several 
minutes. 

Tom received the tube and ball from the hand of his fa- 
ther, and soon succeeded in playing with it. Observe, gentle 
reader, the address with whicli the boy manages it. 

" This reminds me of my pea-shooter," said Tom, as ae 




60 PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

removed the tube from Ms mouth, " with 
■which I have often shot a pea across the 
play-ground." 

" Exactly ; and you will now under- 
stand the nature of the force by which 
your pea was projected. The air blown 
from the lungs gains such momentum 
from the contracted channel in which 
it flows, as to impart considerable velo- 
city to the pea "placed within the influ- 
ence of its current." 

Mrs. Seymour observed that she had lately read in Water- 
ton's " "Wanderings in South America" a very interestiag ac- 
count of the Indian blow-pipe, which the natives of Guiana 
employ as an engine for projecting their poisoned arrows, and 
which owes its power to the principle of which Mr. Seymour 
had just spoken, and its unerring accuracy to the sMllful 
address of the Indian who uses it. 

" Mr. Seymoin*," said the vicar, " I much like your experi- 
ment with the pith-balls ; but do teU me the use of the pins 
that are passed through them." 

" They are not absolutely necessary for the success of the 
experiment ; indeed, I ought to have stated that their only 
use is to insure the elevation of the ball to a certain distance 
above the oriflce of the tube, before it is set adrift." 

" ' Ne turhata volent rapiclia ludibria ventis,'' as Virgil has 
it. I duly appreciate the contrivance ; but if the baU was set 
off at a distance from the orifice, such an expedient would be 
unnecessary." 

" Certainly," answered Mr. Seymour ; " I will soon con- 
vince you that, under the condition you propose, the pins are 
not essential." 

So saying, he placed the tube in his mouth, and by carefuUy 
holding the baU at a distance of about half an inch from its 
oriflce, he was enabled to consign it at once to a continuous 
and steady stream of air, which can never be commanded at 
the point from which the air issues ; and he thus succeeded 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 



61 



in sustaining the ball in motion, in tlie same manner as he did 
in the preceding experiment." 

" We wiU now proceed to the orchard," said Mr. Seymour, 
" where I have prepared another pleasing exhibition of a stm- 
Uar description." 

The party accordingly left the Lodge, and when they had 
arrived at the fountain, their father produced a small wooden 
figure, of which the annexed is a sketch. Within its base was 
fixed a hoUow sphere, or ball of thin copper, which when 
properly adjusted on a fountain, ovjet d)eau^ 
was sustained by the momentum produced 
by the velocity of the stream ; so that the 
whole figure was balanced, and made to 
dance on the fountain, as the pith-ball had 
been made to play in the current of air. 

The children were much gratified at wit- 
nessing so curious an exhibition. Mr. Twad- 
dleton laughed heartily at the ludicrous 
effect it produced, and observed that, al- 
though he had never before seen the exper- 
iment, he had frequently heard of it ; and 
he added, that he understood it to be a very 
common toy in Germany and Holland. 

" I have for some time," said Mrs. Sey- 
mour, "been trying to construct a light 
figure of this kind, which shall dance on a 
current of air; and I believe I have at ^-^-^^.c-— 
length succeeded. The head I have formed of tJie seed-vessel 
of the AntirrMnum^ which has a striking resemblance to a 
face, and possesses, moreover, the indispensable condition of 
lightness. The dress is made of silver paper, stretched over 
a cone of the same material. From its appearance I have 
named it the Flying Witch.'''' 

' I admh'e your ingenuity," said Mi*. Seymour, " and I have 
no reason to doubt the success of your enterprise.' 

" I found it ■ convenient," continued Mrs. Seymour, " to 
.place a stage of card below the orifice of the tube, in order to 




63 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOKT 

steady the figure as she rises, and to receive her as she 
faUs." 

" Your principal care," observed her husband, "must be to 
throw the center of gravity of the figure as low as possible, 
and which you may readily accomplish by shot suspended by 
silken strings from the base of the figure." 

On the party returning to the Mbrary, Mr. Seymour ex- 
pressed a wish tha;t, before they suspended their morning's 
recreations, they should take into consideration a peculiar 
property of matter, which they had not yet discussed. 

" And what may that be?" asked Louisa. 

" Elasticity," repHed her father ; " and I wish to hear 
whether Tom can explain to us the meaning of the term." 

Tom very well knew what was meant by Elasticity ; but 
he was like many a merchant with a bill of exchange, who, 
although well acquainted with its value, has not suflBcient 
small change to cash it. Tom wanted words to enable him 
to furnish a clear definition ; his father, therefore, kindly re- 
heved his embarrassment, by informing him that " it was a 
property inlierent in certain bodies, by which they possessed 
a disposition to have their form altered by force or pressure, 
and to recover it on the removal of that pressure, throwing 
off the striking body with some degree of force : for example," 
continued he, " the cane which I hold in my hand can be 
bent to a certain extent, and then, if I let it go, it wUl im- 
mediately return to its former condition with considerable 
force." 

Louisa inquired whether bending and pressing upon a body 
were the same thing. Mr. Seymour replied, that the form of 
an elastic body might be altered either by compression or dis- 
tension, and that iending was, in fact, only a combination of 
these two methods ; " for," said he, " when a straight body, 
like my cane, is bent, those particles of it which are on the 
one side are compressed, while those on the other are dis- 
tended. But let us proceed with the subject. I have said 
that elastic bodies, on returning to their original form, throw 
off the striking body with some degree of force, I have 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 63 

here," continued Mr. Seymour, taking out of Ms pocket a 
"wooden image of a cat, " a toy which I intend as a gift to 
John ; it "will serve to illustrate our subject. The tail, you 
perceive, is movable, one of its ends being tied to a piece of 
catgut, "which is a highly elastic substance. When I bend the 
tail. under the body of the animal, I necessarily t"wist the 
string ; and by pressing the other end of the "wooden taU upon, 
a piece of wax, I can retain it for a few seconds in that situ- 
ation." 

Mr. Seymour, having fixed the tail in the manner above 
described, placed the wooden image on the ground, when, in 
a few seconds, it suddenly sprang forward, to the great de- 
light of the younger children. 

" Can you explain this action ?" asked Mr. Seymour. 

" The wax," answered Tom, " was incapable of holding the 
end of the tail longer than a few seconds ; and as soon as it 
was let loose, the elasticity of the catgut enabled it to return 
to its former condition ; in doing which the taU struck with 
force against the ground, which threw off the body of the cat 
and produced the leap." 

" Yery well explained ; and you, no doubt, will readily per- 
ceive that the operation of steel springs depends upon the 
same principle of elasticity : a piece of wire or steel, coiled 
up, may be made to set a machine in motion by the endeavor 
it makes to unbend itself. This is the principle of the spring 
in a watch. When our watches are what is termed down, 
this steel has uncoiled itself ; and the operation of winding 
them up, is nothing more than that of bending it again for 
action. If the elasticity of a body be perfect.,'''' added Mr. 
Seymour, " it "will restore itself with a force equal to that with 
which it was compressed. As I have given John a toy, it is 
but fair that I should reward you, Tom : open that box, and 
examine the gift which it contains." 

Tom received the present from his father, and proceeded to 
open the hd, when, to his great astonishment, the figure of an 
old "witch suddenly sprang upward. Mr. Seymour explained 
its mechanism, by stating " that the figure contained a wire 



64 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

coiled up like a cork-screw, and which, upon the removal of 
the pressure of the hd which confined it, immediately regained 
its original form." 

Tom inquired what kind of bodies was most elastic. He 
was informed that the air was the most elastic of aU known 
substances, and had, for that reason, been distinguished by 
the name of an elastic fluid. Hard bodies were so in the 
next degree ; while soft substances which easily retain im- 
pressions, such as clay, wax, &c., might be considered as pos- 
sessing but little elasticity. 

" I should have thought," said Louisa, " that neither clay 
nor wax had possessed any elasticity." 

" My love, we know not any bodies that are absolutely, or 
perfectly, either hard, soft, or elastic; since aU partake of 
these properties, more or less, in some intermediate degi'ee. 
Liquids are certainly the least elastic of all bodies ; and, until 
lately, water was regarded as being perfectly inelastic ;* but 
recent experiments have shown it capable of compression, and 
of restoring itself to its original bulk, as soon as the pressure 
is removed ; it must, therefore, possess some elasticity. In- 
deed," said Mr. Seymour, " we might have anticipated such a 
result from the effects which present themselves in the well- 
known game of ' Ricochet^'' or Duck and BraTceP 

" BucTc and DraTce !" exclaimed Louisa ; " for goodness' 
sake, what can that game be ?" 

"I dare say your brother will not have any difficulty in 
explaining it to you." 

Tom informed her that it was a game of water-sMmmmg^ 
in which any number of boys threw a stone, an oyster-shell, 
or a flat piece of tile, into the water; and that he whose 
stone rebounded the gi-eatest number of times was the con- 
queror. 

" It is a very ancient game," said Mr. Seymour, " and had 
the vicar been present, we should have heard a learned dis- 
quisition upon it ; as he, however, is unfortunately absent, I 

• The comparatiye irielasticity of water will be shown hereafter. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 65 

must tell you all I know upon the subject. It was caEed by 
the Greeks EpostraMsmos* and was anciently played with 
flat shells. Now it is evident that the water must, under cer- 
tain conditions, possess some degree of elasticity, or the stone 
could not rebound ; but I shall have occasion to revert to the 
subject hereafter." 

" And are my marbles elastic?" asked Tom. 

" Undoubtedly ; but not to the same extent as your ball. 
There," said Mr. Seymour, throvsdng his ball against the waU, 
" see how it rebounds." 

" The return of the ball," observed Tom, "was, I suppose, 
owing to its elasticity ; and I now understand why one filled 
with air rebounds so much better than one stuffed with bran 
or wool." 

" Tou are quite right ; and the return of the ball, after 
having struck the wall, affords an example of what is termed 
reflected, motion, upon which I shall have to remark when 
we come to the interesting subject of ' Compound Forces ;' 
but at present, my only wish is to render the property of 
elasticity intelligible to you. It is a force of very extensive 
apphcation ; there is scarcely a machine wherein the elasticity 
of one or more sohds is not essentially concerned. Nature, 
also, avails herself of this property to accomplish many of her 
purposes. Fleas and locusts are enabled to jump two hun- 
dred times the height of their own bodies by means of a 
springy membrane, easily visible by a microscope ; so that, 
supposing the same relative force to be infused into the body 
of a man six feet high, he would be enabled to leap three 
times the height of St. Paul's. The hinder legs of the flea are 
also much longer than the fore ones ; when about to leap it 
bends them toward the body, and then, by suddenly extend- 
ing them, effects the leap. The ' Indiistriotis Fleas,^ lately 
exhibited in London, were deprived of this power by having 
the hinder legs amputated at the knee-joint." 

"I suppose," said Tom, "that it is by some such spring 

• Pollux, lib. ix. c. 7; also in Minucius Felix, Lugd. Bat 1652, p. 3. 



66 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

shrimps are enabled to leap to the tops of cataracts, as I have 
read m my work on Natural History." 

" Many species of fish are thus enabled to leap, by bending 
their bodies strongly, and then suddenly unbending them with 
an elastic spring ; and the long-tailed cray-fish, and the com- 
mon shrimp, leap by extending their taUs, after they have 
been bent under their bodies : — but the most striking exam- 
ple of this kind is the leap of the salmon ; just under the cat- 
aract, and against the stream, he will rush for some yards, 
and rise perpendicularly out of the spray twelve or fourteen 
feet ; and, amidst the noise of the water, he may be heard 
striking against the rock with a sound like the clapping of 
hands ; if he find a temporary lodgment on the shelving rock, 
he will lie quivering and preparing for another summerset, 
until he reaches the top of the cataract ; thus at once ex- 
hibiting the elasticity of his bones and the power of his mus- 
cles." 

" Nature also avails herself of this property for accomplish- 
ing many purposes in the vegetable kingdom ; the regular 
dispersion and sowing of the seeds of several plants is effected 
by a spring, which is wound sometimes round the outside, 
and sometimes round the inside of the case in which the 
seeds are contained." 

"We will now conclude our diversions," said Mr. Seymour, 
with an exhibition of a very striking description. Here," 
cried he, as he removed a small piece of apparatus from a 
box which stood on the table, " is a toy, at which the stern- 
est philosopher, nay, even Herachtus, of weeping memory, 
could not refrain from laughing." 

He then displayed a small ball of india-rubber, on wliich 
was painted an exact resemblance of the worthy vicar, exe- 
cuted under the direction of Mr. Seymour, by that inimitable 
artist, George Oruikshauk. The ball was connected with an 
air-syringe, by which it was easily distended. It gradually 
increased in magnitude, swelling, like the gourd of Jonah, as 
the infiation proceeded, and the countenance of the vicar 
progressively enlarged to the size of the fuU moon, without 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAKNEST. 67 

the least alteration in the character or expression of his fea- 
tures. 

" I declare," said Mr. Seymour, " the vicar improves upon 
acquaintance.'''' 

" It must be acknowledged that you have puffed him into 
consequence," observed Mrs. Seymour. 

The countenance had, after a short time, swelled to ten 
times its original dimensions : the children deafened Mr. Sey- 
mour with their shouts, and the good-humored clergyman 
was actually convulsed with laughter. The stop -cock was 
now turned ; the elastic bladder became smaller and smaller, 
and the features underwent a corresponding diminution, un- 
til they once again assumed their original dimensions. 

" You perceive, my dear sir, that I make you looTc small 
again." 

" That is by no means an unusual effect of your jokes," 
replied the vicar. 

" Now, Tom," said his father, " it is for you to explain the 
nature of the exhibition you have just witnessed." 

Tom proceeded accordingly. 

" The bladder was highly elastic, and therefore readily 
yielded to the pressure of the air, and became distended. 
As soon, however, as the pressure was removed, the air was 
driven out again with force, and the particles of indian-rub- 
ber returned to their former condition. But I observed one 
circumstance which I do not understand," said Tom : " when 
you first turned the stop-cock, the air rushed out with great 
violence, and the ball diminished very rapidly ; but it grad- 
ually slackened, until, at last, the bladder could scarcely be 
seen to contract." 

"I rejoice to find that you were so observant," said his 
father : " the effect you noticed depended upon a general law 
of elasticity. Elastic bodies, in the recovery of their forms 
from a state of compression, after the removal of the com- 
pressing force, exert a greater power at first than at last, so 
that the whole progress of restoration is a retarded motion." 

The vicar, who had listened with profound attention to the 



68 



PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 



explanation wMcli the boy had offered, rushed forward at its 
conclusion, and clasping hitn in his arms, declared, that a 
first-class man of Trinity could not have succeeded better. 

" But let us now, if you please, Mi\ Seymour, suspend our 
researches : recollect," said the vicar, " that your birds are, as 
yet, scarcely fledged ; and they will, therefore, make greater 
advances by short flights frequently repeated, than by unia- 
terrupted progression." 

We heartily concur in this opinion, and shall, therefore, 
terminate the chapter. 




MADE SCIENCE IN EAENEST. 69 



CHAPTER rV. 

THE REVOLTTNG WATCH-aLASS. — THE SLTNG. — THE CENTEIFCJ- 

GAIi AND CENTRIPETAL FORCES. THEORY OF PROJECTILES. 

— ^THE TRUNDLING OF A MOP. — THE CENTRIFUGAL RAILWAY. 



On the following morning Mr. Seymour proceeded to ex- 
plain the nature of " Compound Forces." The young party 
having assembled as usual, their father commenced his lecture 
by reminding them that the motion of a body actuated by a 
single force was always in a right line, and in the direction in 
which it received the impulse. 

" Do you mean to say, papa, that a single force can never 
make a body move round, or in a crooked direction ; if so, 
how is it that my baU or marble will frequently run along 
the ground in a curved direction? indeed, I always find it 
very difficult to make it go straight." 

"Depend upon it, my dear, whenever the direction of a 
moving body deviates from a straight hne, it has been influ- 
enced by some second force." 

" Then I suppose that, whenever my marble runs in a 
curved line, there must be some second force to make it 
do so." 

" Undoubtedly ; the inequaUty of the ground may give it 
a new direction ; which, when combined with the original 
force which it received fi-om your hand, wiH fuUy explain 
the h-regularity of its course. It is to the consideration of 
Buch compound motion that I am now desirous of dheeting 
your attention : the subject is termed the ' Composition of 



70 PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

FoECES.' Here is a block of wood, ■with two strings, as you 
ruay perceive, affixed to it : do you take hold of one of these 
strings, Louisa ; and you, Tom, of the other. That is right. 
Now place the block at one of the corners or angles of the. 
table: and while Tom draws it along one of its sides, do you, 
Louisa, at the same time, draw it along the other." 
The childi-en obeyed their father's directions. 




" See !" said Mr. Seymour, " the block obeys neither of the 
strings, but picks out for itself a path which is intermediate. 
Can you tell me, Tom, the exact direction which it takes ?" 

" If we consider this table as a parallelogram, I should say, 
that the block described the diagonal." 

" "WeU said, my boy ; the ablest mathematician could not 
have given a more correct answer. The block was actuated 
by two forces at the same time ; and, since it could not move 
in two directions at once, it moved under the compound 
force, in a mean or diagonal du-ection, proportioned to the 
influence of the joint forces acting upon it. You will, there- 
fore, be pleased to remember, it is a general law, that where 
a body is actuated by two forces at the same time, whose 
dhections are raclined to each other, at any angle whatever, 
it vstU not obey either of them, but move along the diagonal. 
In determining, therefore, the com-se which a body will 
describe under the influence of two such forces, we have 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAENEST. 71 

nothing more to do than to draw lines 
■which show the direction and quantity 
of the two forces, and then to complete 
the parallelogram by parallel lines, and 
its diagonal will be the path of the 
body. I have here a diagi'am which 
may render the subject more intelhgi- 
ble. Suppose the ball b were, at the 
same moment, struck by two forces x 

and Y in the directions B A and B r>. It ^ ^ 

is evident that the ball would not obey either of such forces, 
but would move along the oblique or diagonal line b o." 

" But," said Tom, " why have you drawn the line b d so 
much longer than b a ?" 

" I am glad you have asked that question. Lines are in- 
tended, not only to represent the direction, but the momenta 
or quantities of the forces : the line b d is, as you observe, 
twice as long as b a ; it consequently denotes that the force 
Y acting in the direction b d is twice as great as the force x 
acting ia the direction b a. Having learned the dkection 
which the body will take when influenced by joint forces of 
this kind, can you tell me the relative time which it would 
require for the performance of its diagonal journey ?" 

Tom hesitated ; and Mr. Seymour reUeved his embarrass- 
ment by informing him, that it would pass along the diagonal 
in exactly the same space of time that it would have required 
to traverse either of the sides of the parallelogram, had but 
one force been apphed. Thus, the ball b would reach o in 
the same time that the force x would have sent it to a, or the 
force Y to D. " I. win endeavor to prove this fact beyond all 
doubt. It is, I think, evident, that the force which acts in 
the direction b a can neither accelerate nor retard the ap- 
proach of the body to the line b o, which is parallel to it; 
hence it will arrive at o in the same time that it would have 
done had no motion been communicated to it in the direction 
b a. In like manner, the motion in the dii'ection b d can 
neither make the body approach to nor recede from a o ; and 



73 



PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 



it therefore follows, that, in consequence of the two motions, 
the body will be found both in a o and o d, and will, there- 
fore be found in o, the point of intersection." 

Louisa seemed to express by her looks the irksomeness of 
such demonstrations ; and which did not pass unobserved. 

" This may appear tedious and uninteresting," said Mr. 
Seymour, " but the information is absolutely essential to our 
future progress : if you would reap, you must sow." 

Tom and Louisa both expressed themselves willing to re- 
ceive whatever instruction their father might consider neces- 
sary : and they farther declared, that they understood the 
demonstration he had just oflfered them. 

" Is it not then evident," proceeded Mr. Seymour, " that 
the composition of forces must always be attended with loss 
of power ; since the diagonal of a parallelogram can never, 
under any circumstances, be equal to two of its sides ? and is 
it not also evident, that the length of the 
diagonal must diminish as the angles of the 
sides increase ; so that the more acute the 
angle at which the forces act, the less must 
be the loss by composition ? But I shall be 
better able to explain this law by a diagram. 
If B A, A o be the sides of a parallelogram 
representing the direction of two forces, and 
A D the diagonal path of the body, is it not 
evident that the line a d will shorten as the angle b a o 
increases ?" 

" "We see chat at once," cried Tom, "fi-om the diagram be- 
fore us." 

" Then we will proceed to another 
fact connected with the same subject. 
Look at this diagram ; is not the diago- 
nal A D common to both the parallelo- 
grams inscribed about it, viz., of A b o d, 
and A E F D ?" 

" To be sure it is." 

' Then it is equally clear, that a body may be made to tra- 





MADE SCIENCE IN EAENE8T. 73 

verse tlie same path a d, by any pair of forces represented 
by the adjacent sides of either of such parallelograms." 

" Undoubtedly." 

" I request you to keep that fact in your recollection." 

" I have now to inform you," continued he, " that a single 
force may be resolved into any number of forces, and may, 
in fact, be regarded as compounded of innumerable oblique 
ones. In order, however, to render this fact more intelligi- 
ble, I must refer you to the same figure, from which it will 
appear that the motion of a body, along the hue a d, will be 
the same whether it arise from one single force acting in that 
du'ection, or from two forces impressed upon it in the direc- 
tions A B, A 0, or in those of a e, a f ; and, consequently, 
although the motion may, in reality, be the effect of a single 
force, yet it may be considered as compounded of two or 
more in other directions, since the very same motion would 
arise from such a composition." 

Tom acknowledged the truth of this statement ; and Mr. 
Seymour assured him, that, when they came to play at ball 
and marbles, he should be able to give him a practical demon- 
stration of the fact ; for he would show him, that whenever 
a body strikes^a surface obhquely, or in an inclined direction, 
such a resolution of force will actually take place : " and 
now, Tom," said his father, " give me a marble ; for I wish 
to explain the reason why it turns round, or revolves on its 
axis, as it proceeds forward." 

"I suppose," said Tom, "it depends upon the action which 
I give to it by my thumb and finger when I shoot it out of 
my hand." 

" You are undoubtedly capable of thus giving to your mar- 
ble a certain spinning motion, the effect of which we shall 
have to consider hereafter ; but I fancy you would be greatly 
puzzled to make it proceed without revolving, give it what 
impulse you might by your hand." 

" I have sometimes tried," said Tom, " to make it do so by 
pushing it along with a flat ruler, but it always rolleci in spite 
of me." 




74 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOKT 

" Then it is clear, from your own experiment, that its ro- 
tation cannot arise from the cause you would assign to it. 
If you Avill attend to tliis dia- 
gram," continued his lather, 
" I win endeavor to explain 
the operation. It is evident 
that, as the marble moves 
along the ground b d, the mo- 
tion of the point b will be re- 
tarded by the resistance occasioned by its rubbing on the 
ground : whUe the point o, which does not meet with any 
such resistance, is carried forward without opposition, and 
it consequently must move faster than the point b; but 
since all the parts of the marble cohere or stick together, the 
point cannot move faster than b, unless the marble revolves 
fi'om to E ; and as the several points of the marble which 
are successively applied to the floor ai-e retarded in their mo- 
tion, while the opposite points move fi-eely, the marble during 
its progressive motion must continue to revolve." 

" But you said, papa, that whenever a body moved in any 
direction, except that of a straight hne, it must have been 
acted upon by more than one force ; and yet the marble not 
only runs along the ground, but turns round, at the same 
time, by the simple force of my hand." 

" The revolution of the mflrble, my dear boy, is brought 
about by no less than three forces ; look attentively at the 
diagram, and you "wiU easily comprehend my explanation. 
There is, in the first place, the rectilinear motion given to it 
by your hand ; then there is the friction of the ground : since, 
however, this latter acts in a contrary direction, it merely 
tends to lessen or counteract the velocity with which the 
under-surface proceed^ and consequently to give a relatively 
increased progressive motion to its upper part ; then comes 
that force by which its several parts cohere, and which may 
be represented by o h ; so that the two forces producing the 
revolution of the point o ai-e justly expressed by the lines o o, 
o H ; but these are ia tlie direction of th-j two sides of a par- 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAENRST. 



7o 



allelograia, tlie point will therefore move along the diagonal 
o E. I liave here a toy for you, wfiich will serve to ezpUiin 




still farther the causes of rotation to -which I have alluded." 
Mr. Seymour i^roduce^l a watch-glass, in the hollow of which 
stood a dancing-figure of thin card, as above represented. 

He placed it upon a black japanned waiter,* which he held 
in an inclined position, when it immediately slided down the 
inclined plane, as might liave been expected. He next let 
fall a drop of water upon the waiter, and x^laced the watch- 
glass in it. Under this new arrangement, instead of sliding, 
the watch-glass began to revolve as soon as an inclination was 
given to the surface; and it continued to revolve with an 
accelerated velocity, obeying t?ie inclination and position of 
the plane, as directed by the hand of the operator. 

" What a very pretty effect is produced by the rapid revo- 
lution of the figure !" observed Louisa. 

" Its use in the arrangement," said her fether, " is to ren- 
der the accelerated motion more obvious." 

" I perceive it revolves faster and faster, or I suppose I 
ought to say, with an accelerated velocity," said Tom. 

"CertairJy," answered Mr. Seymour; "whenever a force 

* A common plate will answer the purpose ; but the black gar&ce ^ves the 
advantage of exhibiting more perfectly the motion of the water during the 
progress of the experiment. 



76 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

continues to act, the motion produced by it must be acceler- 
ated for the reason aheady given you* — ^but let me explain 
the operation of the drop of water, which, as you have just 
seen, converted the sliding into the revolving motion. In the 
first place, in conseqiience of the cohesion of the water to 
the two surfaces, a new force was introduced, by which an 
unequal degree of resistance was imparted to different por- 
tions of that part of the watch-glass in contact with the plane, 
and, consequently, in its effort to shde down, it necessarily 
revolved. Now, if you wiU attentively observe the change 
of figure which the drop of water undergoes during the rev- 
olution of the glass, you will perceive a species of vortex ; a 
film of water, by capillary action, is di-awn to the foremost 
portion of the glass, while, by the centrifugal force, a body 
of water is tlu*own under the hinder part of it ; the effect of 
both these actions is to accelerate the rotatory motion. 

" I shah now dismiss the subject for the present, but on 
some fdture occasion I shall probably revert to it ; for it may 
be made to afibrd a simple illustration of the rotatory and 
progressive motions of the earth round the sun ; and it may 
also give us the means of producing some optical effects of a 
very curious kind." 

Mrs. Seymour here suggested that, as it was past one 
o'clock, the children should be dismissed to their more active 
sports iu the garden, 

" We win instantly proceed to the lawn," rephed Mr. Sey- 
mour, " and Tom may try his skiU with the sling ; an amuse- 
ment which I have provided as a reward for his industry, 
and which wiU, at the same time, convey some further infor- 
mation concerning the nature of those forces we have just 
been considering. The sling," continued his father, as he 
advanced upon the lawn, " consists, as you perceive, of a 
leathern thong, broadest in the middle, and tapering off 
gradually toward both ends. To each extremity is affixed 
a piece of string. I shall now place a stone in the broad part 
of the leather, and introduce my middle finger into the loop 

* See page 66. 



MADE SCIENCE m EARNEST. 77 

formed in one of the strings, and hold the other extremity 
between my fore-finger and thumb." 

He then whirled it round, and when it had gained sufii- 
cient impetus, he let go his hold of the string, and the stone 
instantly shot forth with amazing velocity. 

" See ! see ! there it goes !'"' exclaimed Tom ; " to what a 
height it ascended !" 

" And to what a distance has it been projected !" observed 
Louisa, who had attentively watched its descent. 

" Now, Tom," said his father, " can you explain the opera- 
tion you have just witnessed ?" 

" Not exactly, papa." 

" Then attend to me. Have you not learned that circular 
motion is always the result of two forces ?" 

" Undoubtedly," replied Tom ; " of one force which at- 
tracts it to the center around wliich it moves, and of another 
which drives it off in a right line." 

" Certainly ; the former of these forces is therefore termed 
the centripetal^ because it draws the body toward the center, 
while the latter is called the centrifugal force, since its influ- 
ence disposes the body to fly off from the center. In circular 
motion, these two forces constantly balance each other ; other- 
wise it is evident that the revolving body must either ap- 
proach the center or recede from it, according as the one or 
the other prevailed. "When I whirled round the sling, I im- 
parted a projectile force to the stone, but it was prevented 
from flying off in consequence of the counteracting or cen- 
tripetal force of the string ; but the moment I let go my hold 
of this, the stone flew off in a right hne : having been released 
from confinement to the fixed or central point, it was acted 
lipon by one force only, and motion produced by a single 
force is, as you have just stated, always in a right line." 

" But," observed Louisa, " the stone did not proceed in a 
straight, but in a curved hne : I watched its direction from 
the moment it left the sHng till it fell to the ground." 

" You are perfectly correct," repHed Mr. Seymour ; " it 
described a curve, which is called a parabola ; but that was 



78 PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

owing to the influence of a new force whicli came into play 
viz., that of gravity, the effect of whicli I shall have to ex- 
plain hereafter." 

" I cannot understand," said Tom, " why the stone should 
not have fallen out of the shng when you whirled it round 
over your head." 

" Because, my dear, it' was acted upon by the centrifugal 
force, which counteracted that of gravity ; hut I will render 
this fact more evident, by a very simple and beautiful exper- 
iment. I have here a wine-glass, around the rim of which I 
shall attach a piece of string so as to enable me to whirl it 
round. I will now fiU it with water, and although during 
one part of its revolution it wiU be actually inverted, you 
will find that I shall not spiU a single drop of water." 

Mr. Seymour then whirled round the glass, and the young 
party were delighted with the confirmation thus afforded to 
their father's statement. 

" I see," said Tom, " how it happened : when the glass was 
inverted the water could not fall out, because it was influ- 
enced by the centrifugal force which opposed gi'avity."* 

" Exactly. Have you ever observed what happens during 
the trundling of a mop ? The threads which compose it fly 
off from the center, but being confined to it at one end they 
cannot part fi-om it; while the water which they contain 
being unconfined is thrown off in right lines." 

"I have certainly observed what you state," said Louisa; 
" the water flies off in all directions from the mop." 

" Yes," added Tom, " the water was not acted upon by 
the centripetal force as the threads were, and consequently 
there was nothing to check the centrifugal force which car- 
ried the water off in a straight fine from the center." 

"You are not quite correct," said Mr. Seymour; "the 
water does not fly off in a right line from the center, but in 

* A more striking but fearful exemplification of this principle has been 
lately exhibited in London under the name of the Cbntkipuqal Railway, 
in which a car containing a passenger is made to descend from a lofty ceiling 
down an inclined railway, when, after whirling round in an inverted position 
it is carried forward to a corresponding elevation. 




MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 79 

a right liiie in tlie direction in which it was moving at the 
instant of its release ; the line which a body will always de- 
scribe under such circumstances, is called a tangent^ because 
it totiches the circumference of the circle, and forms a right 
angle with a Une drawn from that point of the circumference 
to the center ; but I will render this subject more intelligible 
by a diagram. Suppose a body, revolv- 
ing in the circle, was liberated at «, it 
would fly off in the direction ab- if at 
c, in that of cd; and if at e, in that of 
ef; and so on. Now, if you draw lines 
fi'om these several points to the center 
of the circle, you will perceive that such 
lines will form, in each case, a right an- 
gle. In the experiment which you have just witnessed, the 
surface of the water must have formed, during its revolution, 
a right angle with the string, and consequently could not 
have fallen out of the wine-glass. A knowledge of this law," 
continued Mr. Seymour, " wUl explain many appearances, 
which, although famihar, I dare say, have never been under- 
stood by you. You may remember accompanying me to the 
pottery, to see the operation of the turning-lathe ; it was 
owing to the centrifugal force produced by the rotation of 
the wheel, that the clay, under a gentle pressure, swelled out ■ 
so regularly ; from a similar cause, the flour is thrown out of 
the revolving miU as fast as it ground ; and I shall presently 
show you that you are indebted to this same force for the 
spinning of your top and the trundling of yom- hoop. But 
let us quit this subject for the present, and pursue the stone 
and its course after it is liberated from the sling. Louisa has 
justly observed that it described a curve ; can you explain 
why it should deviate from a straight line ?" 

" Let me see," said Tom, thoughtfully ; "it would be acted 
upon by two forces, one carrying it forward in a right line, 
the other bringing it to the earth : it would, therefore, not 
obey either, but describe a diagonal : but why that diagonal 
should be a curve I cannot exactly explain." 



80 



PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 



" Then I will give you the reason," said his father. " A 
stone projected into the air is acted upon by no less than 
three forces ; the force of projection, which is communicated 
to it by the hand or the sling ; the resistance of the air 
through which it passes, and which diminishes its velocity 
without cliangtng its direction; and the force of gi-avity, 
which ultimately brings it to the ground. Now, since the 
power of gravity and the resistance of the air will always be 
greater tlian any force of projection we can give a body, the 
latter must be gradually overcome, and the body brought to 
the ground ; but the stronger the projectile force, the longer 
win those powers be in subduing it, and the further will the 
body go before it falls. A shot fired from a cannon, for in- 
stance, will go much further than a stone thrown, from your 
hand. Had the two forces which acted upon the stone, viz., 
those of projection and gravity, both produced uniform mo- 
tion, the body must certainly have descended through the 
diagonal ; but since gi*avity, as you have already learned, is 
an accelerating force, the body is made to describe a curve 
instead of a straight line. This law, however, wiU require 
the aid of a diagram for its explanation. Let x represent the 
ball at its greatest alti- 
tude, X T the force of 
gravity drawing it 
downward; and x z 
that of projection. We 
have here, then, two 
forces acting in the di- 
rection of the two sides 
of a parallelogram. In 
passing on to z, the ball 
wiU perform the diago- 
nal X a ; and in the next equal space of time, wiU descend 
through three times the distance z a, and will consequently 
be found at J ; while in the next period it wiU fall through 
fiw equal spaces, and pass to c; and in the next period, 
again, as it must fall through seven such spaces, it will reach 




MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 81 

the ground at d^ having descrihed the portion of a curve fi*om 
X to d^ or during the time that the two forces were in simul- 
taneous operation. The same principle wOl explain the curved 
ascent of the ball, substituting only the laws of retarded for 
those of accelerated motion ; for it is clear, that the body 
during its ascent will be retarded in the same degree in which 
it was accelerated during its descent^ 

" Your explanation," said Louisa, " appears very clear and 
satisfactory." 

" The curve which Projectiles (that is to say, bodies pro- 
jected into the air) describe, is termed a Parabola^ although 
the resistance of the air, which is not recognized in the the- 
ory, produces a considerable influence on the practical re- 
sult." 

" I have only to add," said Mr. Seymour, " that although 
there exists an immense distance between a stone fastened to 
a cord, which a boy swings round, and those celestial bodies 
that revolve to aU eternity, yet science proves that the source 
of their motions is identical." 

The chUdi-en now proceeded to amuse themselves with the 
sling. Louisa challenged Tom to a trial of skill. She fancied 
that she. could hurl a stone with greater accuracy than her 
brother ; but after several contests she acknowledged herself 
vanquished, for Tom had succeeded in striking the trunk of 
an old tree at a considerable distance, while his sister was 
never able to throw the stone within several yards of the 
mark. 

""Well done, Tom!" exclaimed Mr. Seymour; "why, you 
win soon equal in skUl the ancient natives of the Balearic 
Islands ! 

" And were they famous for this art ?" asked Louisa. 

" "With such dexterity," replied her father, " did they use 
the sling, that we are told their young children were not al- 
lowed any food by their mothers, except that which they 
could fling down fi-om the beam where it was placed aloft. 
I fancy, however, Tom, that you would become very hungry 
before you could strike an object in yonder poplar." 



i83 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOKT 

" At all events, I will try," said Tom. • 

He accordingly whirled round his shng, and discharged its 
Btone, which flew forward with great velocity, but in a direc- 
tion very wide from the mark at which it was aimed. In the 
next moment a violent hallooing was heard: it was from 
tlie vicar, who had narrowly escaped the boisterous saluta- 
tion of the falling stone, which, in its anxiety to throw itself 
at the feet of the reverend gentleman, struck the beaver pent 
house that defended his upper story, and, by a resolution of 
forces which we have endeavored to explain, darted off in 
the direction of the side of a parallelogram, and was thus 
averted from the equally sensitive antipodes of his venerable 
person — his brains and corns. 

"Upon my word, young gentleman!" cried the vicar, "I 
expected nothing less than the fate of the giant of Gath." 

" My dear Mr. Twaddleton," exclaimed Tom, in a tone of 
alarm, " I sincerely hope that you have not been struck?" 

" Oh no ! like the Volscians of old, I bear my shield upon 
my head ;* so, thanks to my clerical hat, I have escaped the 
danger which threatened me : but, tell me, what new game 
is engaging your attention?" 

Mr. Seymour said that he had been explaining the scien- 
tific principle of the sling, and that he hoped the vicar 
was prepared to afford them some information respecting its 
invention and history. 

" The shng ?" repeated the vicar ; " why, bless me ! I left 
you discoursing upon elasticity ; you really stride over prov- 
ince after province as rapidly as if you were gifted with the 
seven-leagued boots of the Ogre : — ^but to the point in ques- 
tion. The art of slinging, or casting stones, is one of the 
highest antiquity, and was carried to a gi-eat degree of per- 
fection among the Asiatic nations. It was well known and 
practiced at a very early period in Etirope ; and om* Saxon 
ancestors appear to have been very expert in the use of this 
missile." 

Mr. Twaddleton, being desirous of communicating the his- 

* Mn. lib. ix. 



MAIJJO HCIKNCE IN EAKNRHT. 



83 




CHAPTER V, 

THE SUBJECT OF ROTATORY MOTION CONTIOTJED. — A BALL, BY 
HAVXNO A PECULLA.R SPINNING MOTION IMPARTED TO IT, MAY 
BE MADE TO STOP SHORT, OR TO RETROGRADE, THOUGH IT 
MEETS NOT WITH ANY APPARENT OBSTACLE. — BILBOQUET, 
OR CUP AND BALL. — THE JOINT FORCES WHICH ENABLE THE 
BALANCER TO THROW UP AND CATCH HIS BALLS ON THE FULL 
GALLOP. — THE HOOP. — THE WHIP AND PEG TOP. — THE SLEEP- 
ING OF THE TOP EXPLAINED. 



"Tom, do you remember that I told you a few days ago," 
said Mr. Seymour, "that, by giving a revolving body a pe- 
culiar spinning motion, certain effects were produced, which 
I should, on some future occasion, take into consideration?" 

" To be sure I do," replied Tom. 

" Well, theni, attend to me." 



84 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

Mr. Se}Tiiour took a mfirble, and, placing it on the gi'ound, 
gave it an impulse forward by pressing his fore-finger upon it : 
the marble darted forward a few paces, after which it rolled 
back again. 

"That is most extraordinary!" cried Tom; "the marble 
came back to your hand, as it were, of its own accord, and 
without having met with any obstacle." 

" And you, no doubt," said Mr. Seymour, " regard it aa 
contrary to the well-known law, that a body once put in mo- 
tion, in any direction, will continue to move in that direction 
untU some foreign cause oppose it." 

" It really would appear so." 

" It is, however, far otherwise ; the force which I imparted 
to the marble communicated to it two kinds of motion ; the 
one projecting it forward, the other producing a rotatory 
motion round its axis, in a direction opposite to that of its 
rectilinear course ; and the consequence was simply this, that 
when the former motion, on account of the fi-iction of the 
marble on the ground, was destroyed, the rotatory motion 
continued, and, by thus estabhshing an action in an opposite 
direction, caused the mai'ble to retrograde.* If, however, 
you will fetch yom* hoop, I will demonstrate the fact on a 
larger scale." 

Tom accordingly produced the hoop; and Mr. Seymour 
projected it forward, giving to it, at the same instant, a spin- 
ning motion in an opposite direction. The hoop proceeded 
forward to a certain distance, when it stopped, and then 
ran back to the hand. 

" Let me beg you," said Mr. Seymour, " to treasure this 
fact in your memory ; you perceive by it how greatly the 
progressive direction of a body may be influenced by a rota- 
tory motion around its axis ; and, indeed, the theory of the 
rifle gun is easily deduced from it. It wiU also explain the 
etifect which a rotatory motion produces in steadying or dis- 
turbing the direction of a projectile. It is for such a reason 
that the balancer constantly whirls round his balls or oranges, 

* This moTement is well known to billiard players. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 85 

as he throws them into the air, with the intention of catching 
them again ; and that in playing at Bilboquet, or cup and 
hall, you find it necessary to give a spinning motion to the 
hall, in order to catch it on the spike — ^but we wUl consider 
that subject presently. I shall also present you with a new 
missile which has lately found its way into the toyshops, 
termed tlie Bomjieeeng. It is used by the natives of Austra- 
lia, and has the curious property, when skUlfuIly directed, 
after striking the desired object, to return to the thrower. I 
am now desirous of laying down a few propositions upon the 
subject of rotation, the knowledge of which is essential for 
the explanation of the motions of revolving bodies." 

Mr. Seymour proceeded to state that every body had three 
principal axes upon which it might revolve, but that the 
shortest was the only one upon which it could permanently 
and steadily rotate ; that should it, in consequence of the 
impulse given to it, begin to spin upon any other than the 
shortest axis, it would, during its revolutions, be constantly 
showing a tendency to approach it ; whence it followed that, 
under such circumstances, it would be imsteady and waMling 
in its motions. 

I order, however, to make this proposition inteUi-gible to 
the children, Mr. Seymour performed the following simple 
expeiiment. 




Having tied some strings to a common curtain ring, as 
represented by figure 1, he twisted it round by means of his 
thumb and finger, until it acquired considerable velocity, 



86 pniLOsopiiT iisr spoet 

when the ring was seen to rise gradually into the position 
represented by figure 2. Thus, in the simplest manner, was 
a revolving body shown to exchange its longer for its shorter 
axis. 

The children declared that they perfectly comprehended 
the subject, and Tom observed that, in future, whenever he 
wished to make a ball spin steadily, he should take care to 
make it turn on its shortest axis. 

" You are quite right, Tom," said Mr. Seymour ; " and the 
skillful bowler at cricket, in order to give his ball a steady 
axis of rotation, always holds it with the seam across, so that 
the tips of his fingers may touch, and he takes care to hold 
it only with such a grasp as may be sufficient to steady it, 
for by a turn even of the wrist it may be made to proceed 
unsteadily ; and this leads me to consider another equally im- 
portant proposition, viz., that the axis of rotation should co- 
incide with the direction in which it is moving forward, or, 
in other words, with its Ime of motion. Now, where this is 
not the case, it is evident that the unequal action of the au' 
will cause the body to deviate from its straight course, since 
its two sides, having different velocities (the rotatory and 
progressive motions conspiring on one side, while they are in 
opposition on the other), will be differently affected by such 
resistance ; the resistance, of course, increasing with the velo- 
city. It is upon this principle," continued Mr. Seymour, 
" that Sir Isaac ITewton has explained the irregular motion 
of the tennis-ball." 

" But do explain to us, papa," said Louisa, " why it is so 
necessary to spin the ball in order to catch it on the spike." 

" Eotatory motion, my dear, when directed according to 
the principles I have endeavored to enforce, wiU always 
.steady the course of a body. In playing at bilboquet, your 
object is so to throw up the ball that its hole may descend 
perpendicularly upon the spike which is held for its reception ; 
and in order to accomphsh this, you make the ball spin upon 
an axis, at the extremity of which is the hole ; the conse- 
quence is obvious." 



MADE SCTENCE IN EARNEST. 87 



Louisa observed, that she well remembered an allusion to 
this game in Miss Edgeworth's Essays on Education; and 
that, unless she was much deceived, the advantage to be 
gained by spinning the ball was referred to centrifugal force, 
and its effect in preserving the '•'■parallelism of motion.''^ 

" I do not recollect the j^assage," answered her father, " but 
I will admit that the centrifugal force is indirectly instrumen- 
tal to the effect, although, in my view of the subject, it ha 
more philosophical to refer it at once to the creation of an 
appropriate axis of rotation, and to the permanence of that 
axis maiijtained by rapid motion." 

" I well remember," observed Tom, " that the rider at 
Astley's whirled round the oranges as he threw them into 
the air," 

" And I hope that you are now not only acquainted with 
the principle which rendered such a rotatory motion neces- 
sary, but that which must make the shorter the more ehgible 
axis for effecting his purpose ; — but can you tell me how it 
could have happened, that the oranges, which were thrown 
perpendicularly upward while the horseman was on the full 
gallop, should have fallen again into his hand?" 

"Ay," said Louisa, "that puzzled me exceedingly; I 
should have thought he would have ridden away from 
them, and that they must have fallen several feet behind 
him." 

" What say you, Tom, to that?" inquired Mr. Seymour. 

" I suppose that the rider calculated upon the distance he 
would pass forward before they could fall, and projected 
them accordingly." 

" No, indeed ; there is no calculation in the case, nor is 
any art used to throw the oranges in advance: they are 
projected perpendicularly from the hand ; and if you will 
only recall to your mind the subject of the ' Composition of 
Forces,' the mystery will vanish." 

" I see it all clearly," cried Tom : " the orange partakes ot 
the progressive motion of the rider; when, therefore, he 
throws it upward, it is influenced by two forces which are 



PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 



ki the direction of the two sides of a parallelogram, and it 
consequently describes the diagonal." 

"You are quite right; but you doubtless will perceive 
that, instead of a straight line, the orange wiU describe a 
parabolic cui've." 

"For the same reason, I suppose," said Tom, "that tho 
stone from the shng described a curve?" 

" Certainly ; but see, I have a diagram which wOi explain 
the subject more clearly. 




" The orange, as it is thrown into the air, is influenced by 

two forces ; the one arising from the progressive motion of 
the rider, the other from the projectile force imparted to it. 
These two forces are in the dkection of the adjacent sides of 
a paraUelogram, and were it not for the operation of gravity, 
the body would accordingly describe its diagonal in the same 
space of time as it would have described one of the sides.* 
The influence of gravity, however, not only deflects it ft-om 
a right hne into a curve, but diminishes its force, so that, in- 
stead of arriving at the opposite angle of the parallelogram a, 
its greatest altitude wUl be shprt of that point ; it will then 
descend through a similar curve; and, since the time of 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 89 

■ascent and descent are equal,* it will reach the hand of the 
rider at the very moment he is prepared to receive it ; for 
the orange wiU have traversed the parahohc curve in the 
same space of time as the horseman required for passing from 
one extremity of the curve to the other." 

Mr. Seymour, having concluded this explanation, much to 
the satisfaction of the young party, observed that the present 
occasion was an appropriate one for the introduction of some 
remarks on the favorite pastime of the Hoop. 

" * is a classical pastime," exclaimed the vicar, " and was 
as common with the Greeks and Eomans as it is with boys 
of the present generation." 

" And it has the advantage," added Mr. Seymour, " of 
sending the tide of hfe in healthful currents through the 
veins." 

Tom began to trundle his hoop along the gravel-walk. 

" Stop, stop, my dear boy," cried his father ; " you seem 
to have forgotten our compact, that every toy should be 
fairly won before it was played with. Come upon the lawn, 
and let me ask you some questions relative to the motions of 
the hoop. Can you make it stand still upon its edge ?" 

" Not readily," was Tom's reply. 

"And yet," continued Mr. Seymour, "during its progres- 
sive motion it rolls on its edge without any disposition to fall : 
how happens that ?" 

" It is owing to the centrifugal force, which gives it a mo- 
tion in the direction of a tangent to the circle, and, conse- 
quently, overcomes the force of gravity." 

" Your answer is pat," replied his father : " as long as you 
give your hoop a certain degree of velocity, the tangential^ or 
centrifugal force, overcomes gravity, in the manner you have 
already witnessed ;t but, when that is slackened, the hoop 
will fall on its side ; not, however, until it has made several 
complete revolutions. Now, answer me another question. 
Why is it so diflBcult to make the hoop proceed straight for- 
ward, without turning to the right or left?" 



90 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOKT 

" I suppose it arises from tlie same cause as that which, 
altered the du'ection of my marble as it ran along — the ine- 
quality of the ground." 

" That," replied his father, " would undoubtedly have its 
influence ; but it is principally to be referred to the impossi- 
bility of your giving constantly a straight blow by the stick. 
"When it is moving forward, a shght inclination toward either 
side wiU cause the parts to acquire a motion toward that 
side, those which are uppermost being most affected by it ; 
and this lateral or sideway motion, assisted sometimes HJ^ the 
irregular curvature of the hoop, causes its path to deviate 
from a rectOinear direction ; so that, instead of moving 
straight forward, it turns to that side toward which it began 
to incline ; and, in this position, its tendency to fall is stiU 
further counteracted by the centrifugal force. It is from a 
similar cause that the bullet, unless rifled, wDl have a ten- 
dency to go to the right or left, from any unequal impulse 
which it may have received at the moment of its exit from 
the barrel. I have yet one other question, and, as its answer 
will lead us into the consideration of a mechanical subject of 
some importance, I must beg you to bestow aU your atten- 
tion. In trundhng yom* hoop, have you not often observed 
that, although the blow inflicted upon it by your stick might 
have been violent, yet the effect produced by it was compara- 
tively small, in consequence of the hoop having been struck 
by a disadvantageous part of the stick ?" 

" Certainly ! I have frequently observed that, if the hoop 
is struck by the stick either too near the hand, or too near 
the end, much of its force is lost ; and I have also noticed 
the same thing in striking the baU with my cricket-bat." 

" The fact is," said Mr. Seymour, " that every striking 
body has what is termed its center of percussion^ in which aU 
the percutient force of a body is, as it were, collected ; thus, 
a stick of a cyHndrical figure, supposing the center of motion 
at the hand, will strike the greatest blow at a point about 
two-thirds of its length from the wrist. I may, perhaps, at 
some future time, return to this subject, and explain several 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAKNEST. 91 

mechaiiical effects which are dependent upon it. Now away 
with you, and trundle your hoop, or spin your top ; as soon 
as the vicar returns I will rejoin you." 

" Stop a moment," cried the vicar ; " do you not remem- 
ber that the sword of Atrides in his conflict with Paris,* as 
did also that of Turnus in his engagement with jEneas,t broke 
short and was shivered? And why so? Because, as we 
may suppose, the blow was struck at a point distant fi-om 
the center of percussion, and so produced a jarring vibration 
that shattered the' blade." 

" Thus then it would appear, vicar, that the gods were 
unjustly accused of an unfair interference, and philosophy 
is again to be charged with chpping the wings of poetic 
fancy." 

In the course of an hoiu* Mr. Seymour and his reverend 
friend proceeded to the play-ground, where they found the 
ehUdren busUy engaged in their several diversions. 

" I rejoice to find you at so classical a pastime," said the 
vicar, as he approacliod Tom, who was busily engaged in 
spinning his top. " The top, my boy, is a subject which th« 
great Mantuan bard did not consider beneath the patronage 
of his muse ; but, hey-day ! this is not the ' volitans sub ver- 
here tur'bo' of the immortal Virgil ; the top of antiquity was 
the whip-top, the peg-top is a barbarous innovation of mod- 
ern times : a practical proof of the degeneracy of the race. 
Even boys, forsooth, must now-a-days have their activity 
cramped by inventions to supersede labor : well may we re- 
gard the weapons, which our sturdy ancestors wielded, as 
instruments rather calculated for giants than men, if such 
pains be taken to instill into the miads of youth the mischiev- 
ous spirit of idleness." 

" My dear sir," said Tom, who was always grieved at dis- 
pleasing the vicar, " if it wiU gratify you, I will spin my whip- 

* " The brittle sword, unfaithful to his lord, 
Broke short." — Iliad 3. 

+ "But all in pieces flies the traitor svrord, 

And in the middle stroke deserts his lord," — ^n. 12. 



93 PHILOSOrHT IN SPOET 

top, for I have an excellent one wMch my papa has lately 
given me." 

" Well said ! my dear boy. ' Puer toncB spei.'' — "Wliat a 
pity would it be to damp so noble a spirit ! get your whip- 
top." 

Tom accordingly placed the VirgUian top upon the ground, 
and as the boy plied the whip, so did the vicar lash the air 
with his , quotation ; running round the top in apparent ec- 
stasy, while he repeated the well-known lines from the sev- 
enth j:Eneid : 

" lUe actus habena 
Curvatis fertur spatiis ; stupet inscia tiirba, 
Impubesque manus, mirata volubile buxum : 
Dant animos plagae."* 

As Mr. Twaddleton thus gave vent to that fervor which 
was ever kindled by collision with Virgil, Tom gave motion 
to his top, which swaggered about with such an air of selt- 
importance, that, to the eye of fancy, it might have appeared 
as if proudly conscious of the encomiums that had been so 
hberaUy lavished upon it. 

" The Grecian boys, as Suidas informs us, played also with 
this top," continued the vicar. 

" And pray, may I ask," said Mr. Seymour, " whether it 
was not introduced into this country by the Eomans ?" 

" Probably," replied the vicar. " Figures representing 
boys in the act of whipping their tops tirst appear in the 
marginal paintings of the manuscripts of the fourteenth cen- 
tury ; at which period the form of the toy was the same as 
it is at present, and the manner of impelling it by the whip 
can admit of but httle if any difference. In a manuscriptf 
at the British Museum, I have read a very cm-ions anecdote 
which refers to Prince Hemy, the eldest son of James tlio 
First : with your permission I wiU relate it to you." 

* " The wooden engine flies and whirls about, 
Admired, with clamors, of the beardless rout: 
They lash aloud ; each other they provoke. 
And lend their little-souls at every stroke." — Dbtden. 

t HarL lib. 1. marked 6391. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST, 



Here the vicar extracted a inemorandura-book from his 
pocket, and read the following note : 

" The first tyme that he, the i>rince, went to the towne of 
Sterling to meete the king, seeing a little without the gate of 
the towne a stack of corne, in proportion not nnlike to a 
topp, wherewith he used to jjlay, he said to some that were 
with him, ' Loe there is a goodly topp :' whereupon one of 
them saying, ' Why doe you not jjlay with it then V he an- 
swered, ' Set it up for me, and I will play with it.' " 

"Was not that a clever retort of the young prince?" said 
the vicar, as he returned the manuscript into his memoran- 
durn-hook ; " and I think it must have confounded the cour- 
tier who could have asked so silly a question." 

" Well, Tom," said Mr. Seymour, " let us see whether you 
can set up your own top, so tliat it shall stand steadily on its 
point." 

"I have often tried that experiment," answered Tom, 
" hut could never succeed in keeping the line of direction 
within its narrow base." 

" And yet, when in rotatory motion, its erect position is 
maintained without difiiculty : how ls that V 

"Is it not owing to the centrifugal force?" asked Tom. 

" Undoubtedly ; but as the subject is highly interesting, I 
will endeavor to explain it more fully. You must, however, 
first obtain permission from the vicar to sjiin your humming- 
top, for that wUl better illustrate the phenomena which it is 
my wish to examine." 

" If your object is the exercise of the body, let us spin the 
whip-top," repUed the vicar; "but if you wish to exercise 
the boy's mind, I cannot object to your selecting the top best 
calculated to fulfill that desire." 

Tom, having accordingly prepared his top, pulled the string, 
and set the wooden machine spinning on the floor. 

"Now, Tom, I will explain to you the reason of the tojj 
being able to sustain its vertical position. You have already 
learned, from the action of the sling, that a body cannot 
move in a circular path without making an effort to fly off 



94 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOKT ' 

in a right line from the center ;* so that, if a body be affixed 
to a string and whnled round by the hand, it will stretch it, 
and in a greater degree according as the cncnlar motion is 
more rapid." 

" Certainly," said Tom. 

" The top, then, being in motion, all "its parts tend to re- 
cede from the axis, and with greater force the more rapidly 
it revolves ; hence it foUows that these parts are like so many 
powers acting in a du-ection perpendicular to the axis ; but, 
as they are all equal, and as they pass aU round with ra- 
pidity by the rotation, the result must be that the top is in 
equilibrio on its point of support, or on the extremity of tho 
axis on which it turns. But see, your top is down." 

" And what is the reason," asked Tom, " of its motion be- 
ing stopped?" 

" I can answer that question, papa," said Louisa ; " is it 
not owmg to the fi-iction of the ground?" 

" Certainly ; that has, doubtless, its rufluence, but tie re- 
sistance of the air is also a powerful force upon this occasion. 
A top has been made to spin in vacuo as long as two hours 
and sixteen minutes.t But come, Tom, spin your top once 
more. Observe," exclaimed Mr. Seymom*, "how obliquely 
the top is spinning. It is now gradually rising out of an ob- 
lique position ; — now it is steadily spinning on a vertical axis ; 
— and now its motion is so steady that it scarcely seems to 
move." 

"It is sleeping ^X as we call it," said Tom. 

" Its center of gravity is now situated perpendicularly over 
its point of support, which is the extremity of the axis of ro- 

* Page 137. 

+ Short on "Serson's Horizontal Top." Phil. Trans, xlvli. 352. 

X Plain matter-of-fect persons, like you and the author, gentle reader, will 
be content to regard the term '■'•sleeping" as simply expressive of that quies- 
cent state which the top thus assumes. Not so, however, Mr. Prybabel, who, 
smiling at our simplicity, informs us that the phrase is derived from the Ital- 
ian word topo, a mouse, from which the Italian proverb, " H dormo comma 
un topo" — He sleeps like a dormouse— has been corrupted into, "He sleeps 
like a top.'^ 



MADE SCIENCE 1^ EARNEST. 95 

tation : but attend to me, continued Mr. Seymour, "for I am 
about to attempt the explanation of a phenomenon which 
has puzzled many older and wiser philosophers than your- 
selv^es. It is evident that the top, in rising from an ob- 
lique to a vertical position, must have its center of gravity 
raised; what can have been the force which effected this 
change ?" 

" "Was it the centrifugal force ?" asked Tom. 

" Certainly not," said Mr. Seymour, " as I will presently 
convince you." 

" Then it must have been the resistance of the air," said 
Louisa. 

" No, nor was it the resistance of the air," repUed her fa- 
ther ; "for the same effect takes place in vaeuoP 

" Then pray inform us by what means the top was raised." 
' " It entu'ely depended upon the form of the extremity of the 
peg, and not upon any simple effect connected with the rota- 
tory or centrifugal force of the top. I will first satisfy you 
that, were the peg to terminate in a fine, that is to say, in a 
mathematical point, the top never could raise itself. Let 
A B be a top spinning in an ob- 
lique position, having the end of 
the peg, on which it spins, brought 
to a fine point. It will continue 
to spin in the direction in which 
it reaches the ground, without the 
least tendency to rise into a more 
vertical position ; and it is by its c 

rotatory or centrifugal force that it is kept in this original 
position : for if we conceive tlie top divided into two equal 
parts A and b, by a plane passing through the line x o, and 
suppose that at any moment during its spinning the connec- 
tion between these two parts were suddenly dissolved, then 
would any point in the part a fly off with the given force in 
the direction of the tangent, and any corresponding point in 
the part b with an equal force in an opposite direction; 
whUe, therefore, these two parts remain connected together, 




96 



PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 



during the spinning of the top, tliese two eqnal and opposite 
forces A and b will balance each other, and the top will con- 
tinue to spin on its original axis. Having tluis shown that 
the rotatory or centrifugal force can never make the top rise 
fi'om an oblique to a vertical position, I shall proceed to ex- 
plain tlie true cause of this change, and I trust you will be 
satisfied that it depends upon the bluutness of the point. Let 
A B o be a top spinning in an obhque position, terminating in 
a very short point with a hemispherical shoulder p a m. It 
is evident that, in this case, the top will not spin upon «, tlie 
end of the true axis x rt, but upon p, a point in the circle p m 
to AvMch the floor i f is a tangent. Instead, therefore, of re- 
volving upon a fixed and stationary point, the top wiU roll 
round upon the small circle p m on its blunt point, ■«'ith very 
considerable friction, the force 
of which maybe represented 
by a line o p at right angles to 
the floor i f, and to the spher- 
ical end of the peg of the top : 
now it is the action of this 
force, by its pressure on one 
side of the blunt point of the 
top, which causes it to rise in 
a vertical direction. Produce 
the line o p till it meets the axis 
; fi'om the point o draw the 
line T perpendicular to the axis a x, and t o parallel to it ; 
and then, by a resolution of forces, the Ime t c will represent 
that part of the friction which presses at right angles to the 
axis, so as gi-adually to raise it in a vertical position; in 
which operation the circle p m gradually diminishes by the 
approach of the point p to a, as the axis becomes more per- 
pendicular, and vanishes when the pomt p cohicides with the 
point a, that is to say, when the top has arrived at its vertical 
position, where it will continue to slee})^ without much friction, 
or any other disturbing force, untU its rotatory motion fails, 
and its side is brought to the earth by the force of gravity." 




MADE 8CIEIsCE IN EARNEST. 97 

Mr. Seymour, having observed his children busily engaged 
at the game of Trap and Ball, determined, as usual, to make 
it subservient to scientific instruction. 

" Now, lom, let me see how far you have profited by our 
late conversation. I have some questions to ask you about 
the action of your Trap and Ball," said his father. 

" I do not suppose there is much jjhilosophy in the game," 
observed Tom. 

" Of that we shall judge presently. — Can you tell me the 
direction which the ball takes after it flies from the spoon of 
the trap, in consequence of the blow of the bat upon the 
trigger ?" 

" It flies upward, to be sure, and allows me to strike it with 
my bat," answered the boy. 

" Very true ; but at what angle? — ^I see you hesitate; look 
therefore at the diagram I have prepared, and attend to my 
explanation of it." 

Mr. Seymour produced the sketch which we here present 
to our readers. 




" A B represent the spoon and trigger in their quiescent 
position. Upon striking the end b with the bat, they are 
brought into the position o d. The spoon wUl thus have 
described the small arc a c, when it will be suddenly stopped 
by the end of tlie trigger d coming into contact with the 
phoe. The motion of the ball, however, will not be arrested, 
and it will consequently be projected forward out of tlie 
epoon." 



PHILOSOPHY m SPOET 



" Exactly," exclaimed Louisa, " in the same mamier as the 
shOling flew off the wine-glass, or a person on a gaUoping 
horse would be thi'own over the head by its suddenly stop- 
ping." 

" I thani; you, Louisa ; your memory, I perceive, has not 
suffered from the di-enching you received from the water- 
cart ; — but can you tell me," continued Mr. Seymour, " the 
direction which the ball will take after its release from the 
spoon ?" 

This was a step beyond Louisa's knowledge, and her father, 
in order to assist her, begged her to consider in what direc- 
tion it was moving 'before it left the spoon. 

" You have just told us," said Tom, " that it described an 
arc, or portion of a circle." 

" Very well," said Mr. Seymour ; " and did not the philos- 
ophy of your sling teach you that, when a body revolving in 
a cii'cle is suddenly disengaged, it will fly oft' in a right line in 
the direction in which it was moving at the instant of its 
release ? — the ball therefore wiU describe the tangent o e." 

" It is aU clear enough to me now," said Tom, evidently 
vexed that he had overlooked a principle which had been so 
lately explained to him by the action of his shng. 

" I now see, too," added Tom, " why the baU seldom flies 
off at the same angle in every trap." 

" That," said his father, " must of course depend upon the 
extent of the arc described by the spoon, and which will of 
course vary in different traps." 

" Before we conclude the subject, let me ask you whether 
there is not some one point in the bat, at which you can most 
effectually strike the ball ?" 

" To be sure," answered Tom, " in the same way that 
there is a point in my hoop-stick at which I can give the 
strongest blow — and that point is termed the Center of Per- 
cussion." 

Now let us consider some other games of ball. One is 
the harpastum; a small ball, so called because the games- 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 99 

ters endeavored to snatch it from each other. The ball was 
thrown unexpectedly to some one of the players, and he as 
Tinexpectedly threw it at another ; hence it caused a variety 
of anxious and watchful movements." 

" It seems," observed Louisa, " to be a sport better adapt- 
ed to boys than girls." 

" In that supposition you are quite mistaken," replied the 
vicar ; " on the contrary, the hand-ball would seem to have 
been originally a female sport, for Homer has restricted the 
pastime to the princess and young maidens of Corcyra ; at 
least, he has not mentioned its ever having been practiced by 
the men ; but upon this point critics dififer. 

' O'er the green mead the sporting virg'ins play, 
Their shining veils unbound ; along the skies, 
Toss'd and retoss'd, the ball incessant flies.' "* 

Mr. Seymour said that, as the vicar had satisfied them ot 
the high antiquity of the ball, he hoped he would now afford 
them some information respecting its use in England. 

" The game of hand-ball," said tlie vicar, " called by the 
French palm-play^ because the exercise consisted originall}' 
in receiving the ball, and driving it back again with the palm 
of the hand^ was formerly a favorite pastime among the 
youth of both sexes ; and in many parts of the kingdom it 
was customai'y for them to play at this game during the 
Easter hohdays for tansy cakes. In ancient times, the mayor 
and aldermen of Newcastle used to go in state at the feasts 
of Easter and Whitsuntide, to a little mall of the town, to 
witness this game. It was originally played wdth the naked 
hand ; then with a glove, which in some instances was lined ; 
afterward, cords and catgut strings were bound upon the 
hand to make the ball rebound more forcibly." 

" That custom," observed Mr. Seymour, " doubtless, gave 
origin to the racketP 

"It did," replied the vicar; "and the places where this 
game was played were called tennis-courts, and the game 

* Pope's Odyssey, lib. v. 



100 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

itself obtained the name of tennis^ from the French word 
tenez* (take it, hold it), frequently used during the exercise. 
The pastime, I beheve, was introduced among our ancestors 
about the year 1222, the sixth year of Henry III., by persons 
of superior rank and family, who erected courts or oblong 
edifices for the performance of the exercise." 

" I long to hear something about foot-ball," exclaimed Tom. 

" That is a pastime," said the vicar, " which was formerly 
in great vogue in England, but of late years it has fallen into 
disrepute, having apparently merged in the more popular game 
of cricket.'\ It derives its name, as you may suppose, fi'om 
the circumstance of the bah. being di-iven by the foot, in pref- 
erence to the hand. When a match is made, two parties, 
equal in numbers, take the field, and stand between two 
goals, which are placed at the distance of eighty or a hun- 
dred yards ffom each other. The ball, wMch is commonly 
a blown bladder, cased with leather, is delivered in the midst 
of the ground, and the object of either party is to drive it 
through the goal of their opponents, by which the game is 
won. Tlie abilities of the performers are best displayed in 
attacking and defending the goals, whence the pastime is 
more frequently called a goal^ than a game at foot-baU. In 
this attack and defense, the exercise becomes exceedingly 
violent; the players kick each other's shins without the 
least ceremony; and this occasioned James I. to speak of 
foot-baU as ' meet&r for la/ming than mahing able the users 
thereof!' " 

"I believe," said Mr. Seymour, "that the 'ancient game of 
goff'\% stiU much practiced in Scotland." 

" It is," rephed the vicar. " In the reign of Edward III. 

* This etymology has been disputed, and it has been said that the holding 
or keeping possession of the ball is no part of the game ; for, during the play, 
the ball is in continual motion, or passing from one to another. Others seek 
the etymology of the name, and the origin of the game, in a place in France, 
called Tennois, or, by a change of one letter, Sennois, in the district of Cham, 
pagne, where balls were first made, and the game, as it is said, first irtro- 
flnced. 

t Cricket, from a Saxon word signifying a «<ic^. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 101 

the Latin name cambuca^ a crooked club, or staff, was applied 
to this pastime, because it was played with such an instru- 
ment. The bat was also styled a &«n%, from its being -bent; 
and hence the game itself is frequently called iandy-ialiy 

"And how is it played?" asked Tom. 

" It is played on a smooth common, by driving forward 
two small hard balls with the dandy I have just described, 
into very distant holes in the ground, about a foot deep, and 
nine inches over; and tlie party whose ball is driven into 
these holes with the fewest strokes is the victor." 

" You have omitted to speak of that favorite game in 
the reign of Charles II., called Pall Mall^''^ observed Mr. 
Seymour. 

" I thank you for reminding me ; it was a game played in 
a vista, now bearing the name of the Mall, in St. James's 
Park, at the end of which stood a pole, with a hoop suspend- 
ed fi'om an arm at its top, through which the ball was to be 
driven." 

" But come," said Mr. Seymour, " it is high time to think 
of our dinner ; the children must require some refreshment. 
I am not, my dear vicar, one of those philosophers who be- 
lieve that play was invented by the Lydians* as a remedy 
against hunger ; nor do I subscribe to the opinion of the el- 
der Scriblerus, that it was on such an account wisely con- 
trived by Nature, that children who have the keenest appe- 
tites should, at the same time, be those who are most addicted 
to sport." 

" Whether you believe or not that the Lydians invented 
sports shall not be a subject of contest between us," said the 
reverend antiquary ; " but," continued he, " one thing is quite 
certain, that the Lydian games were at first (tailed Lydi by 
the Eomans; and afterwards by corruption Ludi ; a pre- 
sumption I must needs say in favor of the Lydian claim. But 
enough of this ; to what do you propose we should next turn 

* Ilerodotns speaks of the inhabitants of Lydia havine; successfully had re- 
course to gaming as a partial substitute for food, during a famine of many 
years' continuance. 



102 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

our attention ? I doubt not you have some new sport for 
our recreation as "vveU as our instruction," added the vicar. 

" We will, if you please, attend the children to their see- 
saw, wliich the gardener has lately constructed for them," 
said Mr. Seymour. 

The party accordingly walked to the grove, in which a 
plank had been placed across a wooden post; and upon 
which Tom and John had been riding for some time in the 
earher part of the morning. The boys again mounted their 
new hobby ; and, after amusing themselves for some minutes, 
Mr. Seymour desired them to stop, in order that Tom might 
explain the principle upon which the see-saw acted. Tom re- 
phed, that he was not aware of any principle which could 
apply to riding on a plank. 

" Have I not often told you, my dear boy, that the princi- 
ples of Natural Philosophy may be brought to bear on the 
most trivial acts of hfe? Listen, therefore, and you shall 
find that your present amusement teems with instruction. 
You are already weU acquainted with the nature and opera- 
tions of the center of gravity ; tell me, therefore, whereabouts 
it lies in the plank upon which you are riding." 

" I should think," replied Tom, "that in this instance the 
centers of gravity and magnitude must coincide, or be very 
nearly in the same point." 

" The center of gravity must, as you say, be very nearly 
in the middle of the board ; and if that be the case, you will 
allow tliat, supposing those who ride upon it are of equal 
weight, the plank must be supported in the center to make 
the two arms equal ; but you and John are of unequal weight, 
so that you perceive the plank must be drawn a httle further 
over the prop to make the arms unequal ; and John, who is 
the lighter, must be placed at the extremity of the longer 
arm. Thus arranged, you wiU exactly balance each other ; 
and as each of you, on your descent, touches the ground with 
your feet, the reaction affords you a spring, which destroys 
the equilibrium, and enables you to oscillate in arcs about the 
center of motion." 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 103 




" Do we then describe the arcs of a circle as we ascend 
and descend?" 

" Undoubtedly you must. Look at this diagram," said Mr. 
Seymour, " and you will see at once that the plank can only 
move round its center of motion ; for how could you rise, or 
your brother fall, perpendicularly in a straight hue? You 
must, in rising, and he, in descending, describe arcs of your 
respective circles. It is equally evident that his velocity must 
be very superior to yours; for, if you could swing quite 
round, you would each complete your respective circles in the 
same time." 

" It would really appear so," said Tom ; " and I have my- 
self observed that the lighter person has the better ride, as ho 
moves both further and quicker, and I now understand the 
reason of it ; it is because, being further from the center of 
motion, he describes a larger arc." 

" The greater velocity with which your little brother moves, 
renders his momentum equal to yours. You have the most 
gravity, he the greatest velocity ; so that, upon the whole, 
your momenta are equal : for you, no doubt, remember that 
momentum is weight multiplied into velocity.* You have 



104 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

here then a striking instance of mechanical advantage gained 
by opposing motion to matter, or velocity to weight ; for I 
think you will readily admit, that, without the aid of the 
plank, your little brother could never have raised you from 
the ground." 

" That is clear enough," said Tom. 

"The plank, then, thus arranged," continued his father, 
" constitutes what has been termed a mechanical power^ to 
which the name of lever has been given ; it is not, however, 
my intention at present to enter into the history of these 
powers, of which there are sis distuict kinds ; the one pre- 
sented to you, in the instance of the see-saic, is perhaps the 
most simple, and not the least important of them." 

" It is very curious," observed the vicar, " to reflect upon 
what a simple, and apparently trifling fact, the powers of civ- 
ilized man may be said to depend. The single truth you have 
just announced, of making velocity a compensation for weight, ' 
has supplied his weak arm with the means of controlling the 
very elements." 

"It is very true," said Mr. Seymoi:r ; " and we might go 
so far as to say that, had it been the wHl of the Almighty 
Creator of the universe to have withheld from matter that 
property which we have been discussing, man must have re- 
mained the most helpless and forlorn of his creatures. I now 
propose," added Mr. Seymour, " to accompany the children 
to their swing ; the present is a suitable opportunity for giv- 
ing them some idea of the doctrine of oscillation, or the 
theory of the pendulum." 

" Let us proceed, then, to the Icarian Game,''^ exclaimed 
the vicar. 

As the party walked along, Mr. Twaddleton explained the 
meaning of the above allusion, with which the reader wUl be 
hereafter made acquainted. The children had commenced 
the sport, and Mr. Seymour informed Tom and Louisa, who 
were attentively watching the motions of the swing, that its 
vibrations, hke those of the pendulum of a clock, were produced 
by its effort to fall, from the force of gravity, and its power 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 105 

of ascending through an arc similar and opposite to that 
through which it has descended, from the momentum ac- 
quired during its descent. 

" Like the bandilor, I suppose," said Louisa. 

" Exactly, my dear, that is a very good comparison ; for 
as the bandilor, having descended along the string by its 
gravity, acquires such a momentum as to enable it to ascend 
the same string, and thus, as it were, to wind itself up ; so 
does the pendulum or swing, during its descent, acquire a 
force that carries it up in an opposite arc to an equal height 
as that from which it had fallen. But teU me, Tom, whether 
you have not discovered that the motion of your new swing 
differs from that which you experienced in your former 
one?" 

"The ropes of our present swing are so much longer 
than those which we formerly used, that the motion is much 
pleasanter." 

" Is that all ?" said Mr. Seymour. " Have you not observed 
that you also swing much slower ?" 

" I have certainly noticed that," said Tom. 

" It is a law which I am desirous of impressing upon your 
memory, that the shorter the pendulum, or swing, the^quicker 
are its motions, and vice versa ; indeed, there is an established 
relation between the velocity and the length, which I shall 
hereafter endeavor to explain to you. Galileo, the celebrated 
philosopher, and mathematician to the Duke of Florence, ac- 
cordingly proposed a method of ascertaining the height of the 
arched ceiling of a church by the vibrations of a lamp sus- 
pended from it. The solution of the problem was founded on 
the law to which I have just alluded, but which involves 
mathematical considerations, with which it is not my preseht 
intention to perplex you. Now it is known that, in the lati- 
tude of London, a pendulum, if 39 inches and two tenths in 
length, wOl vibrate seconds, or make 60 swings in a minute ; 
by observing, therefore, how much the pendulous body devi- 
ates from this standard, we may, by the application of the 
appropriate rule, find its length ; if the distance fi"om the bot- 



i06 



PHILOSOPHY m SPORT 



torn of the lamp to the pavement be then measured, which 
may be done by means of a stick, and added to the former 
result, the sum wiU give the height* of the arch above the 
pavement ; but I wUl show you the experiment the next time 
we go into Overton church ; the vicar can tell us the exact 
height of the roof, and I will try how nearly I can approach 
the truth, by observing with a stop-watch how many seconds 
one vibration of the chandelier continues." 

" Butj papa, why, surely the duration of its vibration must 
depend l^pon the force which you may happen to give to the 
chandelier ?" 

"• Not in the least ; and this brings us at once to the con- 
sideration of the most curious and important fact in the his- 
tory of the pendulum, and for a knowledge of which we are 
also indebted to Galileo * It is termed the isochronousi prop- 
erty, or that by which aU its vibrations, whether great or 
small, are performed in exactly the same period of time ; but 
that you may be better able to comprehend this subject, at- 
tend to the diagram which I have prepared for your iastruc- 
tion. Suppose that the swing 
or pendulum a b be raised to o, 
it wiQj'in eifect, be raised the 
perpendicular height e o, and in 
falling wiU describe the arc o b ; 
and, in the point b, it will have 
that velocity which is acquired 
by descending through o b, or 
by a body falling freely through the perpendicular o e. This 
velocity wiH be sufBcient to cause it to ascend through an 
equal arc b d, to the same height from whence it fell at o ; 
and since the times of ascent and descent are equal, it vdll 
describe both these arcs in exactly the same space of time. 
Having lost all its motion at n, it wiU again begin to descend 




* This discovery was published at Paris, in a treatise called " X' Usage dv 
Cadran, on de VHorloge Physique TTrviverselle," in the year 1639 ; froF 
which may be dated the invention of the pendulum. 

t Compounded of the Greeks words laos, equal, and xp^^ou time. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 



1^7 



by its own gravity ; and in tlie lowest point b it will acquire 
tte same velocity as before, which will cause it to reascend 
to ; and thus, by ascending and descending, it wOl perform 
continual vibrations ia the circumference o b d ; and, were it 
not for the resistance of the air, and the friction at the center 
of motion a, the vibrations would never cease ; but from these 
obstructions, though small, it happens, that the velocity of 
the mass of matter at b is a little diminished in every vibra- 
tion ; and consequently it does not return precisely to the 
same points o or d, but the arcs described continually become 
shorter and shorter, till at length they grow insensible ; and 
yet the very same time is required for the performance of the 
shorter as the longer arcs ; for, although in the one case the 
body passes over less space, still its velocity is proportionally 
decreased. You perceive, then, that tri an attempt to ascer- 
tain the height of a ceiling by the vibrations of a chandelier, 
the extent of its swing cannot alter the time which may be 
required for its completion. And, if you will place your httle 
brother in the swing, you will perceive that he will return 
t<i your kand ia nearly the same space of time, whether he 
decribes a large or small arc ; although this experiment must 
be considered as extremely rude, since there are many dis- 
turbing causes for which the theory cannot possibly make any 
allowance. I must, moreover, warn you that, where the arc 
described is very considerable, the difference ia the time wOl 
be greater ; for ia order to insure this property of vibrating 
through unequal arcs in equal times, it is necessary that the 
path of the body should describe a peculiar curve, called a 
cycloid, and not the segment of a circle ; at present, however, 
it -is not possible for us to enter into this difficult branch of 
science, although I ti-ust that at some future period I shall be 
justified ia an attempt to explain it." 

Mr. Seymour, having concluded his lecture, was about to 
return to the Lodge, when Mrs. Seymour approached the 
party, carrying ia her hands a letter, which the smile on her 
countenance announced to contain agreeable intelligence. 

" I have just received," said Mrs. SejTuour, " a letter from 



1S8 



PHILOSOPHT IN SPOKT 



Miss Villers, whom you must all remember as a most deliglit- 
fiil person. I am informed that she is about to be married to 
the nephew of a gentleman who is at present in our neigh- 
borhood in search of a country residence." 

" Does she mention the gentleman's name ?" inquired the 
vicar. 

" Mr. Henry Beacham," said Mrs. Seymour. 

" The nephew of Major SnapweU, 1 declare," exclaimed the 
delighted vicar. 

The whole party participated in the pleasure which their 
excellent friend expressed at this discovery, and Mr. Seymour 
immediately accompanied Mi\ Twaddleton to Ivy Lodge, to 
congratulate the major, and to make such arrangements as 
might expedite the purchase of Osterley Park, and the conse- 
quent introduction of a family into the neighborhood of Over- 
ton, from whose society the Seymours anticipated the iiighest. 
satisfaction. 

At the same time Mrs. Seymour hastened to dispatch a 
letter to Miss Villers, in order to soHcit her immediate pres- 
ence at Overton Lodge. 




MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 



109 




CHAPTER YI. 



MARBLES — ANTIQUITY OF THE GAME. — METHOD OF MANUFAC- 
TURING THEM. RING-TAW. MR. SEYMOUR, THE VICAR, AND 

TOM ENTER THE LISTS. THE DEFEAT OF THE TWO FORMER 

combatants; the triumph of the latter. — A PHILO- 
SOPHICAL EXPLANATION OF THE SEVERAL MOVEMENTS. — 
THE RUDIMENTS OP THE STEAM-ENGINE FIRST APPEARED 
AS A TOY. — THE NATIVE CHILDREN OF THE ORINOCO PER- 
FORM AN ELECTRICAL EXPERIMENT. — THE SUBJECT OF RE- 
FLECTED MOTION ILLUSTRATED. 



In our last chapter we left Mr. Seymour and Ms reverend 
friend on their way to Ivy Cottage : it is only necessary to 
state that the major received them with that satisfaction and 
gratitude which the nature of their visit could not fail to pro- 
duce. Plans were proposed, and arrangements concluded, 
for the furtherance of the object we have announced; in 



110 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

short, in the brief space of an hour, the major had determined 
the course of his future life, and had framed schemes of hap- 
piness, and visions of domestic peace, which he impatiently 
sought to realize. The vicar was detained by the major, but 
Mr, Seymour quitted Ivy Lodge and returned to his famUy. 
He found the children engaged at playing at marbles. Tom 
was displaying to his sisters many instances of his adroitness 
and skiU in shooting at and liitting marbles. 

" Why, Tom," exclaimed Mr. Seymour, " how came you 
possessed of such a multitude of marbles ?" 

" By luck, good luck, papa : I won them all before the 
hohdays ; and I can assure you that my school-fellows ac- 
knowledge me as one of the best players at ring-taw in the 
school." 

" Justly, then, has your merit been rewarded," said the 
father. "Have you not read of the skillful Eoman, who 
could blow peas tlu-ough a quUl, and deposit them with such 
nicety on the point of a pin, placed at some distance, as rarely 
to miss his aim ?" 

" And what was his reward ?" asked Tom. 

" A bushel of peas, my boy, which the emperor command 
ed to be presented to him. But do not misunderstand me ; 
far be it fi'om my wish to disparage your skiU : whatever we 
undertake, we should endeavor to accomplish ; I am, there- 
fore, well pleased to find that you can play at marbles with 
so much success." 

" I wonder who invented marbles," said Tom. 

" That question, my dear, must be addressed to Mr. Twad- 
dleton, who, I have no doubt, wiU immediately answer it." 

Scarcely had these words been spoken, when then- " Fidus 
Achates^'' appeared on the lawn. Mr. Seymour informed hira 
of the subject of then* conversation, and added, that he had 
just told the children he was sure he would readily answer 
their question. 

"Not so readily as you may imagine," replied the vicar; 
" but I will tell you all I know upon the subject. It appears 
to be a very ancient game ; for it is stated by Suetonius, that 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. HI 

Augustus, when a youth, spent many hours in the day in 
playing with little Moorish boys '•cum nucihus^^ that is, witJi 
nuts^ which appear to have been then used in the very way 
in which you now play with your marbles. In later times, 
round stones, picked out of gravel, were introduced for this 
purpose. The marbles which you now hold ia your hand are 
substitutes of still more modern invention. The best of them 
are imported from Holland, where, as I have been informed, 
they are manufactured by grinding fragments of alabaster and 
of other stones, in an iron mUl of a peculiar construction, in 
which there are several partitions furnished with rasps, which 
turn with great velocity, by means of a stream of water ; and 
thus, having rounded the stones, project them out of dififerent 
holes for which their size may adapt them. Thus manufac- 
tured, they are brought down the Ehine, and from thence 
dispersed throughout Europe; immense quantities are also 
exported to India and China. There are, however, as you 
well knxjw, inferior kinds, which are of home manufacture, 
and consist of potter's clay, covered with a glaze, and burnt 
in a furnace." 

" I have often wondered what is the meaning of the words 
taw and aZZ^," observed Tom. 

" Why, your tcm is a brown marble, and your ally^ if I re- 
member rightly, a very white one: is it not so?" asked the vicar. 

" To be sure," said Tom. 

" Very well, then," said the vicar, " the words are clearly 
abbreviations of tawny and alabaster. '''' 

" Now then," said Mr. Seymour, " for a game ; what is it 
to be, Tom?" 

'■'•Ring-taw forever !" cried Tom ; " it is the only game of 
marbles worth playing at." 

" It is really so long since I left school," observed his fa- 
ther, " that I must beg you to refresh my memory, and give 
me some instructions about this favorite game of yours." 

" I wiU teU you aU about it. We must first draw a circle, 
on which each player is to put a certain number of marbles 
to be previously agreed upon ; we then make a mark at fiome 



112 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

distance, wliicli is called the offing^ and from whicli we are 
to shoot at the marbles in the ring." 

" That is all very intelhgible," observed his father ; " and 
I suppose the object of the player is to shoot a marble out of 
the ring, which not only gives him that marble, but entitles 
him to shoot again at another, and so on, until he misses, oi 
all the marbles are won." 

" That is right, papa." 

"And a -good marksman," observed the vicar, "who has 
the first shot, may easily win the game, before any other 
player can gain the opportunity of shooting at a single marble." 

" I see that clearly," said Mi-. Seymour ; " he may strike 
out a marble from the circle, and then shoot at anotlier, and 
in this manner traverse the whole ring ; I therefore conclude 
that good players wUl always demand a large ring, or else 
there would not be much chance for any one, except for him 
who played first." 

" That is the game ; but I must teU you," said Tom, " that 
if the player should leave his own marble in the ring, he is 
at once put out ; and should it be within a certain distance 
on the outside, an adversary may shoot at it, and, by hitting 
it, put him also out of the game." 

" I beheve that I am now a perfect masfer of the subject," 
said Mr. Seymour; " what say you, vicar?" 

" I understand it ; and it appears to me to be capable of 
some scientific calculation ; but the practical results must, of 
course, diflTer very widely fi'om the theory, for the uneven- 
ness of the ground, and the inaccurate' construction of the 
marble, are circumstances which never can be duly estimated." 

" Certainly not," replied Mr. Seymour ; " these difficulties 
even exist at the game of billiards, where the table is smooth 
and perfectly horizontal : but we do not require perfect ac- 
curacy, an approximation to it will be sufficient for the pur- 
poses of illustration ; we will, therefore, if you please, pro- 
ceed at once to the game, and I wiU endeavor to point out to 
Tom the nature and direction of the several forces by which 
each marble will be influenced." 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAKNEST. 113 

Tom, accordingly, like the son of Cornelius Scriblerus, con- 
verted his legs into a pair of compasses, and described, with 
the toe of his shoe, the necessary circle upon the ground. 
Each party, by agreement, placed two marbles upon the ring, 
and it feU to the lot of the vicar to open the campaign. Mr. 
Twaddleton then advanced, and, with the assumed air of a 
true knight-errant, approached the ring, exclaiming with a 
loud voice, and with a gesture of inexpressible drollery, " I 
demand gracious leave that I may be delivered of my vow, 
and forthwith combat in the hsts ;" so saying, he unfurled 
his red banner, and sounded a trumpet ; or, in more humble 
phraseology, he extracted his handkerchief fi'om his pocket, 
and, applying it to his nasal organs, produced a loud and 
thrilling blast, which frightened every sparrow from its rest- 
ing-place. After this preliminary ceremonial, he marshaled 
his limbs into the most appropriate attitude, and, thrusting 
one hand behind the exuberant tail of his coat, he, with the 
other, shot forth his missile at the largest marble opposite to 
him. His taw faithfully delivered its errand, and inflicted 
such a blow upon the paunch of his antagonist, that, although 
neai-ly twice the size of its assailant, like a true bully, it 
skulked off, and retreated several feet beyond the lists ; but, 
alas ! the httle marble of the vicar, unlucky wight ! was so 
stunned by the operation, that it staggered, and reeled back- 
ward into the ring, and thus, according to the estabUshed 
law of the field, completed by one act the total defeat of its 
Inckless commander. 

" Your marble is left in the ring !" exclaimed Tom, with a 
shout of triumph. 

" I see how it happened," said Mr. Seymour ; " the vicar 
struck themarble plump, or ' played a fuU ball,' as we say at 
bilhards, and the result easily admits of explanation. You 
ah-eady know that a marble possesses elasticity ; when, there- 
fore, the one in the ring Avas struck, it went off with a velo- 
city equal to that with which the striking marble approached 
it, whUe the latter, in return, received a blow equal to that 
it gave, which destroyed its motion. When we go back into 



114 PHILOSOPHY m SPOKT 

the Ebrary, I wiU exhibit a very pretty experiment in further 
elucidation of this philosophical truth." 

It was now Mr. Seymour's turn to enter the lists. He 
carefully applied his knuckles to the ground, and, taking aim 
at a Bttle marble which he had selected as his victim, gal- 
lantly shot the missile from his thumb and finger ; but, alas ! 
alas ! the goddess, whatever may be her name, who presides 
over this species of tournay, doubtless saw the impending 
fate of her- favorite, and after the example of "Venus, who 
tm-ned aside the weapon from j33neas, assumed the shape of 
a smaU pebble, and thus arrested the fatal course of the mar- 
ble, and gave it a new direction, which sent it curveting 
through the ring, without committing one single act of de- 
vastation. 

"Bravo! bravo !" exclaimed Tom ; "it is now my turn." 

The boy, according to the usage of the field, might at once 
have won the game by striking his father's marble: but 
he was too magnanimous to take such an advantage, and too 
eager to display his own skill, to cut the game short by a 
maneuver : he had determined to win his laurels by hard 
fighting and generalship. He accordingly proceeded to strike 
a ring marble ; in effecting which he had, like the vicar, chal- 
lenged a gigantic knight as his antagonist ; but instead of 
strLkiug it plump^ he struck its upper quarter, so that it was 
roUed out of the ring, while the striking marble, imparting 
only a portion of its momentum, continued to move forward 
after the impact. This course was greeted with the acclama- 
tions of Mr. Seymour and the vicar, the latter of whom de- 
clared it to have been " nobly run," and gallantly accom- 
plished ; and, extracting a sixpence from his waiscoat pocket, 
exclaimed, after the manner of chivalry, " Largesse^ largesse, 
glory to the sons of the brave ! glory to the invincible knight 
of the taw !" 

The boy had not only struck the marble out of the ring, 
but he had, at the same time, contrived to place his own 
marble in the most favorable position for his future opera 
tions ; and, indeed, it may be here observed, that in this con 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAENEST. 115 

Bists the art of playing the game. It is almost umiecessary to 
add that Tom won every marble in succession. 

Mr. Seymour then proceeded to explain the laws of impact, 
by which the movement of each marble was directed. He 
observed, that the subject embraced two propositions, viz., 
the direction of the object marble after having been struck, 
and that of the striking marble after the stroke. He said 
that, if a straight line were drawn between the centers of the 
striking and object marbles, it would necessarily pass through 
their point of contact, and, if continued, would represent the 
path of the latter after the blow. In order to find the direc- 
tion of the strihing marble after the shock, he told him that 
he must imagine a tangent to the path of the object baU drawn 
fi'om its center, and then a line parallel to it, from the center 
of the striking marble ; the latter of which would be the re- 
quired path. 

Mr. Seymour now inquired whether there was any other 
game of marbles at which they could amuse themselves. 

" The game which we call ' lagging out^ " replied the boy, 
" is amusing enough. It consists in striking your marble 
against the wall, and making it rebound, so as to hit any 
other marble that is placed at a certain distance from it, or 
to come within a span of it." 

" I understand," said his father, " and, like ring-taw^ it 
may be made subservient to our purpose of illustrating the 
docti'ine of forces ; although I think that the principle of re- 
JlectecL motion may be more readily explained by the rebound- 
ing baU." 

Mr. Seymour here took the elastic baU, and threw it ob- 
hquely against the wall, from which 
it rebounded in an opposite and 
equally oblique direction. He then 
sketched the annexed figure, and pro- 
ceeded as follows : — " "When I threw 
the ball against the wall b, in the 
direction a b, having struck it, it 
glanced oflE", making an angle, in its passage back again, equal 




116 pHiLOSorrtY iisr spoet 

to that which it made in its approach to the wall. If I draw 
the perpendicular b d, this fact will be rendered more appa- 
rent, and you wiU perceive that the angle a b d is equal to 
the angle o b d ; the former is termed the angle of incidence^ 
the latter the angle of reflection ; and these angles, remem- 
ber, are always equal, provided the ball under experiment be 
perfectly elastic." 

"Do you mean to say," asked Tom, "that the more ob- 
liquely I throw the baU against the wall, the more obliquely 
it wUl rebound ?" 

"Exactly; that is my meaning ; and see whether you can- 
not explain the fact, for it depends on the composition and 
resolution of the forces, a subject which I should hope you 
thoroughly understand." 

Tom pondered for some time over the drawing, and at 
length observed that there was one difSculty which he could 
not immediately surmount. 

" State your difficulty," said Mr. Seymour. 

He proceeded to observe that the force acting in the direc- 
tion A B would certainly be resolved into two others, viz., 
one in the direction f b, and another in that of d b ; " be- 
cause," continued he, " these lines are the adjacent sides of 
the parallelogram, of which a b is the diagonal ; and I well 
know that, whenever a force strikes obUquely, it is thus re- 
solved." 

" That is all very well explained," replied his fathef ; " pray 
'proceed." 

" Now conies the difficulty," continued Tom ; " for the 
force D B wUl of course be destroyed by the wall, and that 
represented by f b, which is the only one that can remam, 
would carry the ball to e." 

" It certainly would do so," answered his father, " if the 
ball were perfectly devoid of elasticity ; but remember that, 
in consequence of this property, the force d b wiU be ex- 
changed for one in an opposite direction, b d." 

" I had entirely overlooked the elasticity," said Tom ; " I 
now see my way clearly, for in that case there must be two 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 



117 



forces acting in the directions b d, b e, wMch will, of course, 
di-ive the ball down the diagonal b o." 

" Your demonstration is perfectly correct, my boy ; and I 
think you will now admit that I could not have adduced a 
more beautiful instance of the composition and resolution of 
forces ; for, in the first place, you resolve the diagonal force 
into two others, and then you recompound these to produce 
another diagonal one." 

" But I think you told us that the angles of incidence and 
reflection were only equal when the rebounding body was 
perfectly elastic." 

" Clearly so ; the force d b must be exchanged for an equal 
one B D, or else the angle a b d cannot be equal to the angle 
D B ; but I will render this fact stUl further intelligible by 
another diagram. Let b, as in the former case, represent the 
wall upon which the imperfectly elastic body impinges in the 
direction a b. — The force will of course be resolved into two 
others, viz., into d b and f b ; the force d b, however, instead 
of being replaced by the opposite one b d, will now be repre- 
sented by the shorter line b 

G ; or that of b h or b i, ac- t^__ B jp 

cording to the degree of elas- 
ticity. If we, therefore, 
complete the pai-allelogram, 
b 0, B K, or B M will be 
the diagonal path of the 
body ; making, as you per- 
ceive, the angle of reflection 

D B 0, greater than that of incidence a b d ; and whei e the 
body is perfectly inelastic, the force d b will be wholly de- 
stroyed, and, the force b e alone surviving, the body will be 
carried along the line be. I have now," continued Mr. Sey- 
mour, "explained to you the principal laws which govern 
those forces by which your ball or marbles are actuated. It 
is true that in practice you cannot expect the results should 
accurately coincide with the theory, because, in the first 
place, you cannot obtain marbles that are of equal density 




118 PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

and elasticity, and of true figure ; and in the next, there will 
be obstacles against which it is impossible to guard. The 
spinning of the marble will also have a material influence on 
its motion, as we have already discovered. In the game oi 
bOliards, where every obstacle is removed, as far as art can 
assist, the theory and practice are often strangely discordant. 
But WQ have dwelt suflBciently upon the subject; we wUl, 
therefore, return to the hbrary, where I intend to exhibit an 
experiment in further elucidation of the subject of collision." 

The party accordingly proceeded on their return. 

"I hope," said Mr. Seymour, addressing himself to Mr, 
Twaddleton, who was walking a few paces before him, " that 
the maiden ladle's have not espied their vicar at a game of 
marbles ; if they should, what a chuckling would there be at 
their next tea party !" 

" A fig for the spinsters !" exclaimed the vicar, as he has- 
tily turned round, and arrested the progress of the party 
by his gesture. " You really speak, Mr. Seymour, as though 
it were derogatory to my character to descend from the 
more austere pursuits to the simple but innocent amusements 
of youth. Believe me, Sir, that I am not so old as to have 
forgotten that I was once young." 

" Once young ! say, ever young. I only lately observed, 
when you were playing with your ball and marbles, that they 
appeared to possess the power of restoring the vigor of youth, 
like the apples of the Scandinavian goddess Iduna," observed 
Mr. Seymour. 

" And let me remind you," said the vicar, " that the Per- 
sian ambassador found even AgesUaus, the Lacedemonian 
monarch, riding on a stick." 

" True ; and the ambassadors of Henry the Fourth found 
him playing on the carpet with his children," said Mr. Sey- 
mour. " If you fall back upon authority, I am quite ready to 
stand as surety for your honora'ble acquittal. I suppose you 
remember that Socrates was partial to the recreation of riding 
on a wooden horse, for which, as Valerius Maximus informs 
us, his pupU Alcibiades laughed at him." - 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 119 

" I care not who laughs at me," exclaimed the vicar : " ' the 
world may laugh again, and I may live to do it kindness.' I 
enjoy the amusements of youth, and am as willing as was old 
Acestes to join their games.* I entirely agree with Dr. Paley, 
in regarding the pleasure they afford as a striking instance of 
the beneficence of the Deity — 

' Deus nobis htec otia fecit,' 

as Virgil has it." 

The vicar proceeded in a strain of unusual animation — 
" Toys and games, my dear fi-iend, have served to unbend the 
wise, to occupy the idle, to exercise the sedentary ; and, let 
me add, to unwrinkle the aged, for, by reviving the pleasant 
recollections of youth, what a cheering glow is cast over the 
evening of life!" 

" And," interposed Mr. Seymour, " I hope you will also 
add, to assist the young in acquiring knowledge, as well as to 
aid the sage in his labors to extend it ; for I may here inform 
you that, by means pf the soap-bubble, Faraday has succeeded 
in discovering new laws regarding the magnetic action of dif- 
ferent gases." 

" It might also be easily shown that the rudiments of the 
steam-engine first appeared in the form of a toy," observed 
the vicar. 

■" I suppose you allude to the Eolipyle of Hero of Alexan- 
di-ia?" 

" Exactly so ; and I have been told that our gas-lights 
were first suggested by boys filling the bowl of a tobacco- 
pipe with burning coal, and inflaming the vapor that issued 
fi^-om its tube." 

Mr. Seymour here remarked that many of our valuable 
inventions were httle less than cleverly developed toys, sep- 
arated from each other, he was ready to admit, by no incon- 
siderable chasm ; thus did Humboldt witness on the shores of 
the Oronoco the native copper-colored children of the forest 
amusing themselves by rubbing the dry, flat, shining reeds of 

• ^n., lib. v., ver. 719. 



120 PHILOSOPHY m SPOET 

some leguminous plant, for the purpose of causing them to 
attract fibres of cotton, or bamboo; and he very philosophi- 
cally exclaims, " How 'vvide is the interval which separates 
this simple knowledge of electrical excitement by fiiction 
fii'om the invention of the metallic conductor, the voltaic pile, 
and the magnetic telegraph!" 

" All you have tlius related," observed the vicar, " at least 
proves, what I am sure must afford you the highest satisfac- 
tion, that even these wild claildren of the forest entertained 
Philosophy isr Spoet." , 

The foregoing digression having been concluded, the party 
at once proceeded to the Lodge, where Mr. Seymour produced 
a piece of apparatus for the purpose of exhibiting the experi- 
ment he had promised, in illustration of the doctrine of the 
colhsion of elastic bodies. 

" Here are two ivory balls," said he, " suspended by 
threads ; I shaU draw one of them, a, a httle on 
one side ; now I let it go, it strikes, you see, 
against the other ball, b, and drives it off to a 
distance equal to that through which the first 
ball feU ; but the motion of a is stopped, be- 
cause, when it struck b, it received in return a 
blow equal to that it gave, and its motion was 
consequently destroyed. To extend the experiment, here are 
six ivory balls hanging in a row ; I wiU draw the first out of 
the perpendicular and let it fall against the second ; see ! see ! 
none of the balls appear to move except 
the last, which you perceive flies off as 
far as the first ball fell. I should like 
to hear you explain this." 

Tom observed that, when the first 
ball struck the second, it received a blow 
in return, which destroyed its motion ; and that the second 
ball, although it did not appear to move, must have struck 
against the thu-d, the reaction of which set it at rest ; that 
the action of the third ball must have been destroyed by the 
reaction of the fourth, and so on, until motion was com- 




U-i-t i. 



ccab 




MADE SCIENCE IN EAENEST. 121 

municated to the last ball, which, not being reacted upon, 
flew off. 

' Mr. Seymour commended Tom for his explanation ; but he 
begged him to understand that such an effect only occurred 
when the balls were elastic ; and he proceeded to exhibit the 
difference between elastic and inelastic bodies by another ex- 
periment. " When you raise one of these in- 
elastic balls made of clay, out of the perpen- 
dicular, and let it fall against the other, e, the 
action and reaction, not being augmented by 
the force of elasticity, are insufficient t6 destroy 
the motion of the former; only part of the 
motion d wiU, therefore, be communicated to e, and the two 
balls will move together to d e, which are less distant from 
the vertical line than the ball was before it feU." 

Before we close this chapter, we cannot resist the pleasure 
of, informing our readers that Major Snapwell, in company 
with his legal adviser, had quitted Overton, for the purpose 
of making such preliminary aiTangements as the purchase of 
an estate must necessarily require. It is not our intention to 
accompany them; nor shall we travel over the plains of 
parchment, nor wade through the rivers of ink, which sepa- 
rate the confines of verbal agreement and legal possession ; 
but, claiming the prerogative of authors, we shall dip our wing 
in the cup of inspiration, and, by a single flourish of our 
feathered talisman, at once put the worthy major in the un- 
disturbed possession of his newly-purchased mansion, and 
install him in one of Daw's most comfortable elbow-chairs, 
surrounded by all the luxuries of polished life. 

The following mornmg was occupied with the considera- 
tion of those different toys which are indebted for their oper- 
ation to the pressure of the atmosphere. 

" Tom," said Mr. Seymour, " fetch hither your leathern 
sucker." 

" John is, at this moment, amusing himself in the garden 
with the one which I brought with me from school," replied 
Tom. 



PHILOSOPHY IK SPORT 



" Then you shall construct another for yourself. Here is 
leather and string." 

"■ This leather is too stiff; but I may, perhaps, make it an- 
swer the purpose by first soaking it." 

Having allowed it to remain in water for a short time, the 
leather became sufliciently pliable for his purpose ; he there- 
fore cut it into a circular shape, and affixed a string through 
its center. The juvenile partj^ now hastened to the lawn, 
and, having once again dipped his ncAvly-constructed sucker 
into the water, the ingenious boy placed it upon a stone, 
pressed down the leather with his foot, and succeeded in 
making it raise the weight. 

" Well done, my boy ! Now, then, explain the reason of 
the leather's adhesion to the surfiice, and of its being thus 
capable of retaining its hold, notwithstanding the gravity of 
the stone." 

" In the first place," answered Tom, " the edges of the wet 
leather, from being closely pressed, stuck with sufficient firm- 
ness to the smooth surface of the stone, to resist the force of 
the string as I pulled it upward ; the consequence was, that 
a hollow was formed in the middle part of the leather ; and, 
as that hoUow place cannot contain any aii", it is called a 
vaeitum.'''' 

" Very well," replied his father, " so far you are right ; but 
you have not informed me in what manner a vacuum acts in 
preventing the stone fi-om quitting the leather." 

" It makes it adhere to it by some kind of suction, but I 
confess that I do not exactly understand the subject." 

" Then let us proceed cautiously and' deliberately in the 
explanation. In the first place, you have said, and said cor- 
rectly, that the edges of the leather adhere to the stone ; but 
what is the nature of the power to which this adhesion is to 
be referred ? I perceive you are puzzled by the question : 
attend, then, to my explanation : you must know that there 
exists a tendency in all bodies to adhere together, provided 
the contact of their surfaces be sufficiently perfect ; this prop- 
erty is termed cohesion^ or cohesive attraction, from the Latin 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 123 

•word CO AflBreo, which I need not inform you signifies to stick 
together. The dry leather will not adhere to a smooth sur- 
face, because, in that case, the contact cannot be rendered 
sufficiently perfect ; but, when saturated with water, the in- 
terstices of the leather are filled with that fluid, and the ine- 
quahties of the surface, which must always prevent close 
contact, are removed. If two bodies, when placed together, 
be not sufficiently smooth, or polished, it wOl be vain to 
make any attempt to produce their cohesion ; since the par- 
ticles will, in such a state, touch each other only in a few 
points; whereas, if well polished, the number of points ot 
contact is greatly increased, and the cohesion becomes very 
evident. It is for this reason that carpenters, when they 
intend to glue pieces of wood together, plane the surfaces per- 
fectly smooth, before they apply the .glue. In like manner, 
if two leaden bullets, having each a flat surface of a quarter 
of an inch in diameter, be scraped smooth, and then forcibly 
pressed together, they will cohere so strongly as to require 
the force of 100 lbs. to separate them." 

Tom here acknowledged that he had not before understood 
the reason of the leather's adhesion to the stone. 

" Having, then, settled this point to your satisfaction," con- 
tinued Mr. Seymour, " let us proceed. Your idea of a vacuum 
being formed in the hollow part of the leather is perfectly cor- 
rect : for, as you draw up the central part by the string, the 
hollow thus produced must necessarily be a vacuum.^ since 
the air cannot pass through the leather to supply it : in this 
state, therefore, the atmosphere presses upon "the exterior of 
the leather, and like any other weight prevents its rising from 
the stone." 

Fanny and Louisa here expressed some surprise, on hearing 
of the weight of the atmosphere : the former observed, that 
she did not feel any pressure fi-om it. Their father explained 
the reason of their not being conscious of the weight, by in- 
forming them that their bodies contained air, which, by its 
elasticity, counteracted the pressure from without ; but that, 
if it were possible to remove all the air which the body con- 



134 PHTLOSOPHT nsr spokt 

tained, the pressure of the atmospliere would not be coun- 
teracted ; and the consequence would be, that we should be 
flattened like a pancake by its weight, which had been ascer- 
tained by experiment to be ecpal to fifteen pounds upon every 
square inch of surface, or as mucli as forty thousand pounds 
upon the body of a man of ordinary size^ 

"Until your explanation," said Tom, "I reaUy beheved 
that the le^ither adliered to the stone by some kind of suction^ 
just as the back of my hand adheres to my lips, whenever 
I place it to my mouth, and draw in my breath." 

Mr. Seymour here expressed a doubt wliether his son was 
even yet a perfect master of the subject : he told him tliat 
there was no such operation in nature as suction ; that it was 
merely a popular term to denote the action of^ the air upon 
a vacmnn. " Tour hand," said he, " adheres to your mouth, 
in consequence of your forming a vacuum within it by for- 
cibly di-awing in your breath, and the resistance which is op- 
posed to its removal arises eutu'ely fi-om the pressm-e of the 
atmosphere iipon it. Many are the effects which may be ex- 
plained upon a similar principle. I dare say you well remem- 
ber the astonisliment which you expressed at the force with 
which the hmpets attaclied themselves to the rocks." 

" O yes, papa," exclaimed Louisa, " I well remember when 
we walked on the sea-shore, that on first toucliing the limpets, 
they appeared loose and movable, but, before I had time to 
remove them, they fastened themselves as firmly as though 
they had been a part of the rock upon which they were fixed ; 
how could that happen ?" 

Mr? Seymour replied, that these sea insects possessed the 
power of converting their whole bodies into sucl^ei's ; and he 
informed them, that many other animals were endowed with 
a similar faculty. He instanced the claws of the polypus, 
which are furnished vriih many such suckers, by means of 
which the animal is enabled to hold to whatever it attaches 
itself, with very considerable force. 

" Have you never observed," asked Mr. Seymour, " the 
secm-ity and ease with which fhes frequently wiilk upon a 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 



125 



smooth wall, or a pane of glass, or eveu along the ceiling, 
■with their bodies downward?" 

" To be sure," replied Tom; "but are not their legs pro- 
vided with some sticky matter, which enables them to pre- 
serve themselves from falling? " 

At this moment Tom's stone fell from the sucker. Louisa 
inquired how it could have happened. 

' ' The circumstance is to be easily explained, " said her fa- 
ther. "The atmosphere, by its pressure, ultimately forced 
its way through the edges of the sucker ; its interior, there- 
fore, became filled with air, and it consequently balanced 
the external weight, which had befbre confined it." 

"I have before alluded to the relative compressibility of 
air and water, and the present appears a good opportunity 
for proving the fact by an amusing experiment. See ! here 
are the 'Bottle Imps,^ vicar, which you may remember I 
promised to introduce to your respectful notice," said Mr. 
Seymour. "In this jar of water, carefully closed, as you 
may perceive, by parchment, are two little enameled figures, 
which shall be made to rise and fall, by alternately pressing 
upon and removing the hand from the cover: thus." 

"Why, the spirit of Simon Magus 
must surely possess thee ! " exclaimed the 
vicar. 

The children, as may be readily im- 
agined, were much astonished at so sin- 
gular an effect, and expressed much 
anxiety to be informed by what mech- 
anism it was produced. Their father ac- 
cordingly proceeded with the followiug 
explanation. 

"I have here," said he, "a figure ex- 
actly similar to those in the bottle, which 
we will now examine. You wiU observe, ^ 
that in its center there is a cavity ter- 
minating in a smaJl orifice in the lower 




126 PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

part ; this cavity may be made to contain any quantity of 
ail', so as to give the required buoyancy to the figure : now 
mark ! — I press my hand upon the parchment cover, and tlie 
figure, you perceive, descends ; I now remove the pressure, 
and see, it immediately reascends. The water in tlie bottle, 
as I have told you, is incompressible; when, therefore, I 
press upon the surface, it rises into the interior of the figure, 
and, consequently, by compressing the air into a less space, 
renders it less buoyant ; but no sooner is the h-and removed, 
than the inclosed air resumes its former volume, and expels 
the intruding water ; in consequence of which the figure re- 
gains its former hghtness^nd reascends. Do you understand 
me ?" asked Mr. Seymour. 

" Perfectly," said Tom, " and many thanks for the expla- 
nation ;" and in this opinion did the whole party concur. 

" Well, then," continued Mr. Seymour, " you wUl now 
understand the use of the au--bladder in fish, for it is con- 
structed upon a precisely similar principle. "When the fish 
desires to descend, it presses upon the bladder by means of 
its muscles, and thus condenses the included air into a small- 
er volume."* 

" I now also perceive why the water at the bottom of the 
sea cannot be much more dense than that on the surface ; 
but, if we could dig a pit to the center of the earth, the air, 
in that case, would be highly dense, because, unhke water, it 
is compressible," said Tom. 

" The density of the air," replied his father, " would, un- 
doubtedly, materially increase as we descended. It has been 
calculated that at the distance of thirty mUes below the sur- 
face, the air would have the same density as water ; and at 
the depth of forty-two miles, that of quicksilver ; while at 
the center it would be more solid than any substance ot 
which we have any idea, for its density would be thousands 
of millions of times greater than that of mercury." 

Ml-. Seymour then informed his young pupils, that after 
the lesison they had just received they would never again b* 
* In the cod-fish the air-bladder Is familiarly called the sound. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 127 

puzzled by the motions of the barometer, which had so often 
excited their wonder. 

" As the quicksilver is contained in a closed tube, I do not 
exactly understand how the air can act upon it ; and if the 
tube were not closed, it would of course run out from its 
weight," observed Louisa. 

" You are altogether in error," said her father. " In the 
first place," he continued, "I will show you that the bulb at 
the lower extremity of the tube is open, in order that the 
quicksilver may freely communicate with the atmosfjhere, 
upon which, indeed, its action entirely depends ; while the 
upper space is a perfect vacuum, so as to obviate any coun- 
teracting pressure. As to the quicksilver running out, have 
you so soon forgotten that the air j^resses upon every body 
on the surface of the earth, in the proportion of about fifteen 
pounds upon every square inch ? Now it is from this circum- 
stance that the column of quicksDver is sustained in the tube, 
the ascent and descent of which thus indicates the varying 
pressure of the atmosphere ; so that, when the barometer 
falls, we know the air presses less heavUy upon the earth, and 
the contrary when it rises." 

" That I understand : but what can cause the pressure of 
the air to vary at different times ?" asked Tom. 

" Cannot you imagine the atmosphere to be an airy ocean, 
and to be therefore thrown into enormous waves, so that we 
may sometimes have a longer column of air above us than at 
other times? this is one explanation; there may be other 
causes not so intelligible," answered Mr. Seymour. "But 
enough of this for the present. IvTow, before we quit the 
subject of the air's elasticity, let us consider the philosophy 
of the pop-gun ; an amusement with which, I have no doubt, 
you are well acquainted." 

" Indeed I am, papa ; but do yon allude to the quiU, or to 
the wooden pop-gun?" 

" The principle in both is the same : tell me, therefore, the 
origin and nature of the force which enables you to shoot 
your pellet to so considerable a distance." 



138 PHILOSOPHY IN SrOET 

" It depends upon the action of the air," rephed Tom. 

" Undoubtedly ; but your answer is too general ; I wished 
you to state, in precise terras, the changes which the air un- 
dergoes upon this occasion. You first ram in your pellet to 
the further end of the tube, do you not ?" 

" To be sure ; and then I drive in a second pellet, and, on 
forcing this forward, the first flies out with prodigious force." 

" Very well : now examine what takes place. On propell- 
ing forward your second pellet, you condense the air which 
is inclosed between the two, until its elastic foi'ce becomes so 
great as to overcome the friction of the first pellet ; thus re- 
leased, the air expands with considerable force, and imparts 
a rapid motion to the pellet." 

" I have frequently heard of the air-gun," said Louisa ; " I 
suppose it depends upon a similar principle." 

" It does ; and it aff'ords a very striking example of the 
surprising force which air is capable of exerting, when con- 
densed to a considerable degree ; for, by means of this instru- 
ment, bullets may be propelled with a force very nearly equal 
to that of gunpowder." 

" It is a curious fact," observed the vicar, " that, although 
the air-pump is a modern invention, yet the air-gun, which is 
so nearly allied to it in the construction of its valves and 
condensing syringe, should have existed long antecedent to it ; 
for it is recorded that an air-gun was made for Henry IV. by 
Marin, of Lisieux, in Normandy, as early as 1408 ; and 
another was preserved in the armory at Schmetau, bearing 
the date of 1474." 

"But the air-gun of the present day," said Mr. Seymoui*, 
" is very different from that which was formerly made, and 
which, like the pop-gun, discharged but one bullet, and that 
after a long and tedious process of condensation ; while it is 
now made to discharge five or six without any visible varia- 
tion of force, and wiU even act upon a dozen, but with de- 
creasing effect." 

" I feel very curious to learn something more about this 
air-gun," said Tom. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 139 

" There is a reservoir for the condensed air," replied Mr. 
Seymour, " which is secured hy a nicely constructed valve, 
and which is made to open by pulhng the trigger of the gun, 
so that a portion only of the air is disengaged, wliich, rusliing 
into the barrel, gives motion to the ball." 

" But how is the condensed air introduced into the reser- 
voir?" asked Tom. 

" By means of a condensing syringe," replied his father ; 
" but I wiU take an opportunity of exhibiting the instrument 
in operation." 

The reader will be pleased to recollect that the major agreed 
to pay a passing visit to the vicarage ; it now becomes our 
duty to record what happened upon that memorable occa- 
sion ; and we, perhaps, cannot better represent the nature of 
the discussion that took place than by relating the account, 
as it was given by the belligerent parties themselves, in con- 
versation with Ml*. Seymour. 

" Well, gentlemen," said Mr. Seymour, "is it peace or 
war ? I trust you have amicably adjusted all yom* differ- 
ences." • 

" Upon my word," answered the vicar, " I have just reason 
to complain of the major's unjustifiable skepticism upon pouits 
that are perfectly unquestionable." 

" You continue then to smart under the major's stinging 
criticisms, ' majore sub hoste.^ There is a Latin pun for your 
consolation," said Mr. Seymour. 

" The vicar alludes, I suppose," said the major, " to the 
doubt I expressed respecting the authenticity of his leathern 
money ?" 

" That is one of the many subjects upon which, I must say, 
you have betrayed a deficiency in historical knowledge. Sen- 
eca informs us that there was anciently stamped money of 
leather ; and the same thing was put in practice by Freder- 
ick II. at the siege of Milan ; to say nothing of an old tradi- 
tion among ourselves, that, in the confused times of the 
barons' wars, the same expedient was practiced in Eng- 
land." * • 



130 



PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 




CHAPTER VII. 

THE SOAP-BUBBLE. — THE SQUIRT. — THE BELLOWS; AN EXPLANA- 
TION OF THEIR SEVERAL PARTS. — BY WHOM THE INSTRUMENT 
WAS INVENTED. — THE SUCKING AND LIFTING, OR COMMON 
PUMP. — AN EXPERIMENT ILLUSTRATIVE OF ATMOSPHERIC 
PRESSURE. — THE MAGIC BOTTLE AND ITS WONDERS. 



" Tom," said his father, * bring me a saucer with some hot 
water; a piece of soap, and a tobacco-pipe. I have promised 
to teach John the art of blowing soap-bubbles. 

" Most liquids, by agitation, exhibit the appearance of froth 
in consequence of the escape of the air in small bubbles, which 
had b«en forced into them by the operation. If, however, 



MADE SCIENCE EST EARNEST. 131 

the liquid be viscid and tenacious, like soap and water, the 
air is, as it were, unprisoned in the mass, producing the ap- 
pearance which is commonly called lathery 

Louisa here inquired " whether the air did not escape with 
more or less readiness, according to the degree of resistance 
it met with in the liquid ?" 

" I thank you," said Mr. Seymour, " for having so kindly 
assisted me in the explanation." 

Louisa smiled at this mark of her father's approbation, and 
Mr. Seymour proceeded — " It is on that very account, that 
spirit, after it has been shaken, so soon regains its transpar- 
ency : for, in consequence of the superior lightness of that 
fluid, and the little cohesion which subsists between its par- 
ticles, the air makes a rapid escape. In like manner we may 
account for the spongy appearance which gives such supe- 
riority to our bread ; in that case, the air disengaged during 
the fermentation of the dough cannot escape through so vis- 
cid a mass ; it therefore remains, and thus produces the eyes 
or bubbles which you may always observe in every weU- 
baked loaf." 

"See, papa!" exclaimed Tom, "the bubbles which John 
has blown in the lather are not round, but angular figures — 
they appear to be like the hexagons which we used to cut out 
for our papyro-plasties.'''' 

"They are certainly hexagonal," replied Mr. Seymour; 
" and the form arises from the pressure of the bubbles upon 
each other. The same appearance is to be seen in the pith 
of vegetables, when examined by the microscope, and is the 
result of the general reaction of the solid parts upon each 
other ; but let us proceed to blow some bubbles. Plunge the 
bowl of the tobacco-pipe into the lather." 

Tom obeyed his father's directions, and blowing through 
the stem produced a bubble. 

"See! see!" cried Louisa, " what a beautiful bubble! but 
there is a quantity of soap hanging to its under part." 

" I will take it off with my finger," said Mr. Seymour. 

" There it goes!" exclaimed Tom. 



132 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOKT 

" "Wliat beautiful colors it displays ! as briglit and gaudy 
as those of the rainboAv !" observed his sister. 

" It has burst !" cried Louisa. 

" Ah ! my dear children," murmured the vicar, with an 
air of pensive gravity, " '■Tenues secessit maiwas,'' as the poet 
has it. Even thus it is with all the fuU-blown bubbles of our 
fancy, raised by the breath of hope ; the moment they ap- 
pear most vivid and promising to our imagination, they van- 
ish 'intoair, into thin air,' hke the gaudy and unsubstantial 
soap-bubble you have just witnessed : but proceed to blow 
another." 

"There is one!" exclaimed Louisa; — "see, it is of an 
oblong shape, hke an egg ! — there it goes ! — but I declare it is 
now perfect!}" round ! ! — what can be the reason of its chang- 
ing its figure ?" 

" I am glad you have asked that question, because my an 
swer will serve to illustrate an important property of air, and 
which, indeed, is common to aU fluids. While the upper pai't 
of the bubble was attached to the bowl of the pipe, its grav- 
ity, being resisted, di'ew it into an elliptical form; but the 
instant it was detached, the contained air pressed equally in 
aU directions, and the bubble, in consequence, became a 
perfect sphere."* 
• 

* A scientific friend observed to the author that, as the globe possesses less 
surface than any other figure of equal capacity, it Is of all forms that which is 
best calculated to allow the closest approximation of the particles of soap and 
water; and as there must exist among such particles a strong cohesive ten- 
dency, after having been forcibly stretched out, as it were, by the air blown 
into the bubble, it follows that, did no other cause operate, the bubble would 
assume the spherical form ; in other words, that the effort of all the several 
particles of the mass to approach each other as closely as possible must result 
In the assumption of the spherical form. The same law governs the forma- 
tion of the drops of water as they fall from the clouds, sparkle from the fount- 
ain, or glisten on the dewy foliage ; and to avail ourselves of a beautiful in- 
stance of the alliance of science with poetry, we must be allowed to quote 
the following charming lines of Eogers : 

"That very law which moulds a tear, 
And bids it ti-ickle from its source — 
That law preserves the earth a sphere, 
And guides the planets in their conree." 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 133 

"■' I do not exactly understand what you mean by ' pressing 
equally in all directions.' " 

" The expression is surely sufficiently intelligible. Did you 
not learn in our conversation of yesterday, that air has 
weight, and exerts a pressure as much upward as downward 
and laterally ? "Were this not the case, how could the air 
in the interior of our bodies counteract the pressure of tlie 
atmosphere ? The form of tlie bubble proves the same fact 
in a different way ; for, had the air in its cavity pressed more 
in any one direction than in another, the bubble could not 
have been round, or, to speak more correctly, a sphere?" 

" What are you musing about ?" cried the vicar, who had 
observed the attention of the boy riveted upon the bowl of 
the tobacco-pipe ; " I am sure, from your countenance, that 
some circumstance is puzzling you." 

" You are right, my dear sir ; I was just then thinking how 
it can possibly happen that the bubble should not have a hole 
in its upper part ; for, while I am blowing it up, there must, 
of course, be a communication between my mouth and its 
interior, or else how could the air pass into it ?" 

" True," said his father ; " but the act of tlirowing it oflF 
from the bowl of the pipe will unite this breach ; for there 
exists a strong cohesive attraction between the attenuated 
particles of the lather ; you will, therefore, perceive that, on 
this account, the bubble will be more readily and securely 
separated by a lateral than a perpendicular motion of the 
pipe." 

" I wish," said Tom, " that I could discover some method 
of preventing their bursting so soon, for there is scarcely time 
to examine them before they vanish. What can be the cause 
of their short duration?" 

" Consider, my dear boy, the frailty of their structure, and 
I think that the precarious tenure of their existence will cease 
to astonish you ; indeed, the wonder is, that they should en- 
dure so long. The film of which they consist is inconceivably 
thin,* so that the slightest impulse will be apt to rupture it ; 
♦ Not exceeding the two millionth part of an inch. 



134 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

besides which, tliere must be a considerable evaporation going 
on from their surface, while the contraction of the contained 
au-, from change of temperature, must also tend to limit their 
duration. You must likewise remember that the soap-lather 
will have a tendency to gravitate towards the depending part 
of the bubble, and, consequently, by quitting the upper por- 
tion, to render it of still greater tenuity. This last effect might, 
perhaps, be obviated, in some measure, by giving a rotatory 
motion to the bubble around its axis ; but this, again, would 
accelerate the evaporation, which, after all, is the principal 
cause of the shortness of its dm-ation; so that, unless this 
latter effect could be remedied, I despair of suggesting any 
expedient by which the fi'ail existence of our airy structure 
could be protracted. You must, therefore, seek from a suc- 
cession of bubbles, the prolongation of an amusement which 
no single one can afford you." 

"And could not the evaporation be prevented?" asked Tom. 

" K the bubble were blown in a glass vessel, and the latter 
immediately closed after the operation, it would remam for 
some time ; I remember having once preserved a bubble in 
this manner for a very considerable period." 

Tom, however, did not appear to rehsh this scheme; as, 
he said, the great sport arose from watching the movements 
of the floating bubble ; the boy, accordingly, determined to 
pursue the amusement in the usual manner. His father, how- 
ever, observed, that by mixing a solution of isinglass with the 
soap-lather, larger, as weU as more lasting bubbles might be 
blown ; and Tom accordingly determined to make the experi- 
ment. 

During this dialogue, little John had succeeded, for the first 
time, in launching the airy bauble. Imagination always tinges 
the objects of our first efforts with briUiant tints ; no wonder, 
therefore, that John, with a shout of ecstasy, should have 
pronounced it to have been the most beautiful bubble he had 
ever seen : in truth, the sun was shining brightly, and the 
coloi's thus produced very justly excited the admu-ation of all 
present. 



MADE SCIKNCE IN EARNEST. 135 

" I cannot understand the cause of these beautiful colors, ' 
Baid Louisa. 

Mr. Seymour expressed a fear that, in their present state of 
knowledge, they would be scarcely able to understand the 
explanation he should afford them. " But," said he, " I be- 
lieve you know that a ray of light is divisible into seven 
colors, and that, when it passes through certain media, or is 
reflected from certain surfaces, this division is effected, and 
tlie various colors produced. The film of the soap-bubble is 
among the latter bodies ; but I must refer you, for further 
information upon this subject, to Mrs. Marcet's beautiful ac- 
count of ' Eefraction and Colors.' " 

"Now, Tom," said his father, "fetch your squirt, for we 
have not yet finished our inquiry into the effects of the air's 
pressure." 

The squirt was produced ; but it was out of repair : for, on 
attempting to fiU it with water, the instrument entirely failed 
in the performance of its oflfice. 

" I see the defect," said Mr. Seymour, " which a little string 
wiU easily remedy." 

A piece of string was instantly produced from that univer- 
sal depot, the breeches pocket of a schoolboy. Mr. Seymour 
said he should bind a portion of it around the end of the 
piston. 

" "What do you mean by the piston V inquired Tom. 

" The rod which moves up and down in the cyhnder, or 
tube ; and, unless its end fits so exactly as to prevent the 
admission of air, it is clear that the squirt cannot draw any 
water. It was for the purpose of making this part fit tightly 
that I wanted the string, and you wiU now perceive that 
the instrument is ready for use: — ^fetch me a vessel of 
water." 

Tom soon produced the water, and, on placing it on the 
ground, requested that he might be allowed to fill the squirt. 
This he accordingly effected without difficulty, and, on press- 
ing down the handle, he projected a stream of water to a con- 
siderable distance. 



133 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOKT 

" I perceive," said Tom, " that the stream descrihes a curve, 
like my ball." 

" To be sure ; it is under the joint influence of the same 
forces, viz., those of projection and gravity. But esplain the 
operation of the squirt." 

" As soon as I raised the piston, an emp{y space was left 
in the lower part of the cylinder, which I suppose would have 
remained as a vacuum, had not the water rushed into it." 

" And why did the water rush into it ?" 

Tom hesitated. 

" Was it not, think you, owing to the pressure of the atmo- 
sphere upon the surface of the water ? When you raised the 
piston, the air above it was also raised, and ultimately driven 
out by the force of the ascending piston ; and since the air 
could not find any entrance from below as long as the point 
was under the water, the interior of the squirt would neces- 
sarily have remained quite empty, or have been a vacuum, 
had it not been for the weight of the atmosphere, which, not 
having any counteracting pressure, drove the water into the 
tube, and thus filled it ; and which, by pressing down the 
piston, you again expelled with considerable force." 

" Your explanation," cried Louisa, " is so clear and intel- 
ligible, that I feel quite confident I could now explain any 
machine that owes its action to the exhaustion of the air, and 
the pressure of the atmosphere." 

" If that be your belief," said Mr. Seymour, " I will not lose 
a moment in putting your knowledge to the test. — Tom, do 
you run into the house, and fetch hither the kitchen bellows." 

The beUows were produced, and Louisa, having been de- 
sired by her father to explain the manner in which they 
received and expelled the air, proceeded as follows : " Upon 
raising the upper from the under board, the interior space of 
the bellows is necessarily increased, and immediately supphed 
with an additional quantity of air, which is driven into it by 
the pressure of the atmosphere ; when, by pressing down the 
upper board, it is again expelled through the iron tube oi 
uosle." 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST, 137 

" To be sure," said Tom, " in the same maimer that the 
water was expelled from my squirt, when I pushed down the 
handle." 

" So far you are quite correct," said Mr. Seymour; "but 
you have not yet told us the use of the hole* in the under- 
board, and which is covered, as you perceive, with a mova- 
ble flap of leather : it is termed a valve, or ' wind-clap.'' " 

" That," replied Tom, " is for the purpose of admitting the 
air, when we raise up the board." 

" Exactly so ; and also to prevent the air from passing out 
again, when you press it down. I wish to direct your atten- 
tion particularly to this contrivance, because, simple as it 
may appear, its action will teach you the general nature of a 
valve. Without it, the operation of filling the bellows with 
air would have been so tedious as to have destroyed the util- 
ity of the instrument ; for the air could, in that case, have 
only found admission through the nosle, and that, again, 
would have been attended with the additional disadvantage of 
drawing smoke and other matter into its cavity ; when, how- 
ever, you raise up the board, the air, by its external pressure, 
opens the wind-clap inward, and thus finds an easy entrance 
for itself; and when you press the board downward, the air, 
thus condensed, completely shuts the valve, and, its return 
through that avenue being prevented, it rushes out through 
the tube." 

The children were much pleased with the simplicity of this 
invention, and Tom inquired of the vicar who first thought 
of it. 

" "We are informed by Strabo," replied Mr. Twaddleton, 
" that Anacharsis, the Scythian philosopher, who lived in the 
time of Solon, about six hundred years before Christ, invented 
the bellows, as well as the anchor and potter's wheel ; but," 
he added, " there is some reason to doubt the truth of this 
statement. The bellows, however, were certainly known to 

* A story is told of a young student, less intelligent of course than Tom Sey- 
mour, who, upon being asked the use of this hole,, answered, '■'■for the recep' 
Hon of the knee while blowing the fire." 



I-IS PHILOSOPHY m SPORT 

the Greeks ; and the great poet Virgil alludes to them in hia 
fourth Georgic :* 



-Alii taurinis follibus auras 



Accipiuiit redduntque.' " 

Mr. Seymour now proposed that they should proceed to 
consider the structure and operation of the pump. 

" I suppose," said Louisa, " that the pump raises water in 
the same manner as the squirt." 

"Exactly upon the same principle," repUed her father^ 
" but the machinery is a little more complicated, since its 
object is not to force the water out of the pump at the same 
end of the pipe at whicli we draw it in. We wiU, however, 
proceed to the stable-yard, and examine the pump ; and do 
you, Tom, provide a piece of clialk, in order that I may make 
a sketch of some of its principal parts." 

The party immediately proceeded ; and, as they walked 
along, Mr. Seymour desu'ed the children to remember that 
the weight of the atmosphere was estimated at being equal to 
that of fifteen pounds upon every square inch of surface ; and 
that the moment the water arrived at such a height as to 
balance that pressure, it could ascend no higher : he added, 
that the altitude at which such a balance took place was 
about 32 or 33 feet above the surface. 

"If that be the case," said Loiusa, "the pump, of course, 
can never raise water trom any weU of greater depth than 
that wliich you state." 

" Not without some additional contrivance, which I shall 
afterward explain to you," repUed Mr. Seymour. 

The party had, by this time, arrived at the pump ; its door 
was opened, and as much of the apparatus exhibited as could 
be conveniently exposed. Mr. Seymour then chalked the 
annexed sketch upon the stable-door. 

" Is that a pump ?" asked Tom : " I should certainly never 
have guessed what you intended to represent." 

" It is not a perspective di-awing, my dear, but a represen- 

* Line 171. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 



139 




tation of the different parts as they would appear were it 

possible to cut the pump in halves, from 

top to bottom, without disturbing any of 

its arrangements. A drawing of this 

kind, which is frequently used for the 

sake of explanation, is termed a section." 

Mr. Seymour here took an apple from 
his pocket, and, having cut it in two, ob- 
served that the surfaces thus exposed pre- 
sented sections of the fruit. This illustra- 
tion was understood by all present, and 
Mr. Seymour continued, " I have here, 
then, a section of the common household ' -■ -'-^-^-^ 

pump. A B is the cylinder or barrel; p the air-tight piston 
which moves or works within it by means of the rod ; q is 
the ' suction,' or ' feeding-pipe,' descending into a well, or any 
other reservoir ; 8 the valve, or little door, at the bottom of 
the barrel, covering the top of the feeding-pipe ; and there is 
a similar valve in the piston, both of which, opening upward, 
admit the water to rise through them, but prevent its return- 
ing. As this part of the apparatus is no less ingenious than 
it is important, I will sketch the valve, or clacJc^ as it is termed 
by the engineer, on a larger scale." 

Their father then chalked the annexed figure ; 
from which its construction was rendered per- 
fectly intelligible to the children. 

Mr. Seymour proceeded : " When the pump is 
in a state of inaction, the two valves are closed by their own 
weight ; but, on drawing up the piston p, from the bottom to 
the top of the barrel, the column of air, which rested upon it, 
is raised, and a vacuum is produced between the piston and 
the lower valves ; the air beneath the valve, which is imme- 
diately over the surface of the water, consequently expands, 
and forces its way through it ; the water then ascends into 
the pump. A few strokes of the handle totally exclude the 
air from the body of the pump, and fill it with water ; which, 
having passed tlirough both valves, runs out at the spout." 



140 PHILOSOPUY IN SPOKT 

" I understand how water may be thus raised to the eleva- 
tion of 32 feet, but I have yet to learn the manner in which 
't can be raised above that distance," said Louisa. 

" It is undoubtedly true that, if the distance from the sur- 
face of the water to the valve in the piston exceed 32 feet, 
water can. never be forced into the barrel; but you wiU 
readily perceive that, when once the water has passed the 
piston-valve, it is no longer the pressure of tlie air which 
causes it to ascend ; after that period it is raised by lifting it 
up, as you would raise it in a bucket, of which the piston 
formed the bottom ; and water, having been so raised, cannot 
fall back again, in consequence of the valve, which is kept 
closed by its pressure. All, therefore, that is necessary, is to 
keep tlie working barrel within the limits of atmospheric pres- 
sure ; we have then only to fix a continued straight pipe to 
the top of the barrel, and to lengthen the piston-rod ia the 
same proportion, and the water will continue to rise at each 
successive stroke of the pump, until at length it will flow over 
the top of the pipe, or through a spout inserted in any part of 
its side. The common pump, therefore, is properly called the 
sucMng and lifting pumpy 

The party expressed themselves fuUy satisfied ; and Tom 
inquired who invented the machine. 

" It is an instrument of great antiquity," replied his father : 
" its invention is generally ascribed to Ctesebes of Alexandria, 
who lived about 120 years before Christ; but the principle 
of its action was not understood for ages after its invention. 
The ancients entertained a belief that 'Nature abhorred a 
vacuum ;' and they imagined that, when-tlie piston ascended, 
the water immediately rushed forward to prevent the occur- 
rence of this much dreaded vacuum. In the seventeenth cen- 
tury a pump was constructed at Florence, by which it was 
attempted to raise water from a well to a very considerable 
altitude, but it was found that no exertion of this machine 
could be made to raise it above 32 feet from its level. This 
unexpected embarrassment gi-eatly puzzled the engineer, until 
Galileo suggested that the pressure on the water below must 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 141 

cause its ascent into the prnnp, and that, according to this 
theory, when it had risen 32 feet, its pressure became 
equivalent to that of the atmosphere, and could not, there- 
fore, rise any higher ; and as they did not, at that time, un- 
derstand the construction of the piston-valve, the design was 
abandoned." 

" Before we quit this subject," added Mr. Seymour, " I wish 
to show you one or two experiments, ia further elucidation 
of the effect of atmospheric pressure ; but for this purpose we 
must return to the library." 

As soon as the party had reassembled, Mr. Seymour, point- 
ing to the preparations on the table, said they would readily 
perceive that he required but a very simple apparatus for the 
occasion ; — " here, for instance, is a common glass tumbler 
fiUed with water, and I place over its mouth a piece of paper. 
I now invert it, and you see the paper does not fall off, nor 
does a single drop of water escape from the glass. I ask you, 
Tom, for an explanation." 

" I suppose," answered the boy, " that the pressure of the 
atmosphere upon the paper kept it in its place." 

" Undoubtedly ; the external pressure of the air was greater 
than the gravitating force of the water ; and I trust that, af- 
ter the late explanation of the pump, you will readily perceive 
that this difference in favor of the atmospheric pressure must 
continue as long as the column of water does not exceed 32 feet." 

"I understand that perfectly; but stiU I do not exactly 
see why the paper cover was necessary to keep the water ia 
the tumbler." 

His father informed him that, from the ample expanse of 
its mouth, the water, withoiit such a guard, would at once 
have gushed out, and been replaced by the ascending air; 
whereas, had the mouth of the vessel terminated in a narrow 
neck, the paper might have been easily dispensed with ; since 
in that case the small column of water would be unable to 
force a passage for itself through the contracted orifice, with- 
out undergoing a dispersion, and to that the cohesion of its 
particles would oppose an insuperable obstacle. 



143 THILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

" Have you never observed the difficulty of di-inking out of 
a vial ?" asked his father. 

" To be sure ; very often at school, but I was never before 
able to account for it," 

" "We will now proceed to another experiment. I have 
here a lamp-glass, converted for the occasion, as you may 
perceive, into a water-bottle, by means of a cork inserted into 
its lower opening. I now propose, as in my former experi- 
ment, to fill it with water, and to place over its mouth a piece 
of paper, and then to invert it as before — observe ! not a sin- 
gle drop of water escapes." 

" Why, that is nothing more than a repetition of your for- 
mer experiment," exclaimed Louisa. 

" You are impatient, my dear girl ; let me beg that you will 
wait, and observe what will foUow." 

" See ! I now make a hole in the cork with your bodkin, 
and away pours out the water, sweeping the paper before it 
hke a cataract. Can you explain this ?" asked Mr. Seymour. 

"I suppose," said Tom, "that the air, by rushing through 
the hole you made in the cork, pressed out the water by its 
weight, just as the pea was shot out of my pea-shooter." 

" You have not answered my question with your accus- 
tomed consideration," said his father. " Lot me ask you, how 
it is possible that the air thus admitted should possess any 
such.power ? Have you so far forgotten first principles as 
not to know that its internal pressure wiU be counterbalanced 
by the atmosphere on the exterior ; and that, an equilibrium 
being thus obtained, we may exclude altogether the interfer- 
ing influence of atmospheric pressure?" 

" I see it aU clearly now — ^by letting the air into the glass 
you equalized its pressure on the outside," said Tom. 

" And, therefore," added his father, " the water, being thus 
left to follow an unobstructed course, did, in obedience to the 
universal law of gravity, flow out of the vessel. 

"With the knowledge then that yon have thus acquired, 
you will readily understand many things of daily occurrence, 
which might otherwise appear unaccountable; thus, for in- 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 143 

etance, tlie vent-peg or spigot must be raised before the beer 
■will flow out of the barrel. I allude more particularly to this 
example, as it will afford the simplest explanation of a very 
curious conjuring toy I have just obtained, and which I shall 
presently exhibit before you." 

The children, as may be readily supposed, were much de- 
lighted by so exciting an announcement ; nor were the vicar 
and Major Snapwell less curious to learn the nature of the 
proposed exhibition. 

Mr. Seymour having rung the bell, a servant entered with 
a black i)int bottle, and sundry small glasses, duly arranged 
on a waiter. — " I now propose to supply each of my guests, 
from the same magical bottle, with a glass of any wine he 
may call for," said Mr. Seymour. 

The vicar preferred port and received it ; the major i*equir- 
ed sherry, and his wish was gratified; Tom asked for some 
sweet wine, and .he obtained it ; and thus did Mr. Seymour 
proceed, successively filling five glasses, each with a different 
wine, from the same identical bottle. 

"Bless my heart!" exclaimed the major; "I hope Mr. 
Seymour has not formed an unholy alliance with the Prince 
of Darkness ; for it must be confessed he rivals the magic of 
Mephistopheles in the wine-vaults of Leipsig.* At all events,- 
let us beware how we spUl a drop, lest it should turn to 
flame and consume us." 

" Be not alarmed, my good and pious friends ; as soon a's 
I shall have described the ingenious construction of my bot- 
tle, its mysterious influence will be explained, and I shall be 
restored to your good opinion. 

" This bottle," said Mr. Seymour, " is made of tin-plate, so 
japanned as to resemble a common wine-bottle. In its inte- 
rior there are five compartments, each terminating in a small 
tube in the neck, with an orifice on the outside. These air- 
holes, having a connection with the cavities within, act like 
tlie vent-peg of the barrel, to which I have lately aUudei 
When, therefore, they are covered by the fingers, it is evident 

• Goethe's Faust • 



144 



PHTLOSOPHT IN SPORT 



that tlie liquid contents of the respective compartments can- 
not flow out of the bottle ; but by raising each finger success- 
ively, we can command, at pleasm-e, the flow of any one of 
the hquids, in the manner you have witnessed." 

Major Snapwell observed that he had frequently heard of 
tjiis conjxiring trick, as being one of the most surprising and 
successful efibrts of M. Robin; whose wondei'fal art had 
lately ehcited such general approbation from the sight-seers 
of London. 

We must how conclude the philosophic amusements of this 
day. To-morrow we hope to enter upon the interesting 
subject of the Kite. 




MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 



145 




CHAPTER Vm. 

THE KITE. — ITS CONSTRUCTION'. — THE TAIL. — AN AUTHOR'S 
MEDITATIONS AMONG THE CATACOMBS OP PATERNOSTER ROW. 
— THE vicar's dismay. — KITES CONSTRUCTED IN VARIOUS 
SHAPES. — ORIGIN OF THE NAME. — THE KITE OF CHINESE 
ORIGIN. — KITE-FLYING A NATIONAL PASTIME. — THE FIGURE 
USUALLY ADOPTED TO BE PREFERRED. 



The children were summoned into the libraiy, and in- 
formed by their father that he was at leisnre to explain the 
philosophy of the kite ; a subject with which Tom had re- 
peatedly expressed some impatience to become acquainted. 

" It is a beautiful day," exclaimed the boy joyously ; " and 
there is such a delightful breeze, that I should really call it a 
complete Mte-day P 

" Gently, my fine fellow," rephed Mr. Seymour : " the bird 
must be fledged, ere it can fly. We have not, as yet, any 
kite ; for you know that the one you possess is shattered be- 
yond the possibility of repair." 

" True, papa ; but could not Eobert just step into the vil- 
lage and buy one ? I saw several kites in the shop of Peg 
Robson yesterday." 



14G 



PHILOSOPHY IN SPOKT 



" I do not doubt it, my boy ; but the kites which are to be 
fouud in the toy-shop are made to sell, rather than to fly ; 
\re mast, therefore, construct one for ourselves ; and see ! I 
have accordiugly prepared all the necessary materials for the 
purpose. I have here, as you perceive, a straight lath of 
deal, about three-quarters of an inch wide, and less than a 
quarter of an inch thick, and about four feet in length ; this 
is quite ready for forming the standard, or haclc-bone of the 
kite : and now for the bow. The cooper has complied with 
my directions, and sent an unbent hoop as free as possible 
fi-om knots ; you observe that it is about the same length as 
the lath, but it Avill be necessary to pare it down a httle at 
each end, in order to make it bend more readily to the re- 
quired shape." 

This having been accomplished, Mr. Seymour proceeded to 
form the framework of the kite in the following manner. 
He first ascertained the central point of the bow, by balan- 
cing it on his fore-finger ; he then affixed that point, by means 
of string, to the lath, at c, about 
an inch and a half from its upper 
extremity ; a notch was next cut in 
each end of the hoop or bow a d ; 
having fixed the string in the notch 
«, he drew it through another e, 
previously cut in the bottom of 
the lath, and carried it to the op- 
posite end of the bow d ; the skel- 
eton now presented the usual form 
of the kite. The next point, there- 
fore, was to ascertain whether the 
two sides of the bow were in equi- 
librio, which he determined by 
balancing the lath on the finger, 
and observing whether it remained 
horizontal, or dipped on either side. 

This adjustment having been accomplished, Mr. Seymour next 
continued the string from d across the skeleton to the oppo- 




MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 147 

eito notch a, giving it one turn round the lath in its way ; 
from a it was carried to/, and wound round the top of the 
lath, and then again fastened at d ; from d it was extended 
rather more than midway down the latli, and having been 
secured at &, was finally carried to, and secured in the notch 
a. The framework was now pronounced by Mr. Seymour to 
be complete.* 

The next part of the process was to cover it with paper. 
Mr. Seymour observed that the best kind which could bo 
employed for this purpose was tliat known among stationers 
by the name oi fan-paper^ so called from its being marmfac- 
tured for the use of tlio fan-maker ; its merits, he said, de- 
pended upon the size of its sheets, as well as upon the thin- 
ness and firmness of its texture : this, however, was not at 
hand ; he was therefore obliged to rest satisfied with its best 
substitute, viz., folio sheets of large thin post. 

The jjarty now went " ding-dong" to work ; paper, paste, 
and scissors were immediately put in requisition. Sheets of 
paper were laid smootli on the table, and so arranged that 
each sheet overlapped its neighbor about half an inch. The 
skeleton of the kite was then placed upon tlicm, and the pa- 
per was cut to its figure ; a margin, of about three-quarters 
of an inch, having been left around it, except over the bow, 
where the margin was extended to an inch in width : this 
arrangement was for the purpose of allowing the paper to 
turn over the framework, when pasted to it. This part of 
the work having been completed, and a sufficient time allow- 
ed for the drying of the paste, Mr. Seymour proceeded to fix 
the string, usually termed the helVy-liand : for this purpose 
two holes were drilled through the lath, at equal distances 

* The author has been thus minute, in order to afford his young friends 
clear directions for constructing a liite, and which, as far as he Icnows, are not 
to be found In any work Iiitiierto publislied ; and he will also avail himself of 
this opportunity to state, that tlie thin glazed linen of various colors, com- 
monly Icnown to liaberda.shers by tlie name of lining, has been found to be the 
best material as a covering for the kite. It is not only more durable than 
paper, defying the most boisterous wind, but superior to it aa being secure 
ft'om tlie effects of a shower of rain. 



148 PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

from its edges ; the upper one about a fifth part of the length 
of the kite from the top, the lower hole rather more than the 
same distance above its extremity. 

The last, and by far the most important point, was to make 
the loop in the belly-band. If the kite be accurately cqp- 
structed, its proper place may be easily found by extending 
tlie band, right or left, on the surface of the kite, and then 
mai'king tlie sti-ing at a point which lies in a line drawn from 
one end of the bow to the other ; the loop must be made a 
little above such a point. If the kite be now suspended by 
this loop, the two ends of the bow ought to preserve a bal- 
ance, and the lower extremity should dip below the upper 
pai-t of the kite. 

As Louisa observed the extreme care with which her fa- 
ther adjusted this part of the machine, she inquired into ita 
use. 

" I was myself about to put the same question," said her 
mother ; "for its adjustment would appear to require as 
much accuracy as that of the sash of a girl of sixteen." 

Mr. Seymour informed them they would hereafter find that 
the steady ascent of the kite into the air entirely depended 
upon such accuracy. " Have you not seen, Tom," asked he, 
"a kite rise sideways, or plunge, as it is called?" 

Tom said he had often experienced that difficulty at school, 
but that he had attributed it to some defect in the taU. 

" An error in the construction of the tail may, certainly, 
be occasionally the cause of such an accident, but it is more 
generally referable to an improper position of the loop ; if 
the kite plunges, you may conclude that this loop is placed 
too high ; and should it whkl round in the air, you may infer 
that it is too low." 

During this conversation Mr. Twaddleton entered the 
apartment ; Tom was anxious to show him his jiewly con- 
structed kite, and while the party were asking him numerous 
•Kjuestions, Mr. Seymour observed that the vicar would be 
more profitably employed in making bobs for the string of the 
taU, than in finding answers for their string of questions. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 149 

Mrs. Seymour, and her daughters, with Tom and the vicar, 
were, accordingly, placed round the table, for the purpose of 
carrying this project into eifect, by a suitable division of labor. 

It was arranged that Mrs. Seymour should cut the paper, the 
vicar fold it, and Mr. Seymour tie it on the string. 

" How long ought the tail to be ?" asked Tom. 

" And of what shape should the papers be cut ?" inquired 
Louisa. 

" And at what distances are they to be placed from each 
other on the string ?" said Mrs. Seymour. 

" I wUl answer aU your queries," replied the father, " by 
^ving you a dissertation upon this part of our machine." 

" We shall now have an harangue," exclaimed the vicar, 
"as long as the tail itself; '■ut pueris placeas, et declamatio 
fias,''* as Juvenal has it — but pray proceed." 

" The tail should never be less than twelve, and should it 
even amount to twenty times the length of the kite, its ap- 
pearance in the air will be more graceful; this, however, 
must be regulated by the weight of the string, and by the 
length and thickness of the pieces of paper of which the tail 
is composed. The length of each ought to be about three 
inches and a quarter, and an inch and a half in breadth, and 
it should be folded four times longitudinally ; each of these 
"bobs^ as they are called, must be placed at regular intervals of 
three inches." 

" And with respect to the size of the wings ?" asked the 
vicar, 

" I should not recommend any wings ; if the kite be well 
made, there cannot be any advantage from such appendages. 
Having now answered your several questions, let us proceed 
with our work." 

"But where is the paper?" asked Mrs. Seymour. 

"Apropos!" answered her husband; "the box in which 
the London toys were packed contains a quantity that will 
answer our purpose." 

♦ " Thnt you may please the boys, and afford them a theme for declania 
tion." — Jwv. X. 167. 



150 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOKT 

At this moment, Plicebus, as if delighted by the compli- 
ineut thus bestowed upon his heathen brother, cast a sly 
glance from behind a dark cloud, and illumined the spot 
upon wliich the vicar was standing. In short, after the lapse 
of hah' an hour, the sun broke through the gloom, and a brisk 
gale followed ; the countenances of the children sympathized 
■with the face of the heavens, and the expression of hope 
lighted them up, in proportion as the sun illumined the de- 
parting clouds with its radiance. 

" It is now quite fair, papa," cried Tom, in a voice of tri- 
umph, " and there is a most dehghtful wind : shall we not 
proceed at once to the common ?" 

" Pi-esently," answered his father ; "the ground is yet ex- 
tremely wet." 

In the course of an hour this objection had been removed, 
and the party prepared to set off on their kite-flying expe- 
dition. 

" Bring me the kite, and let me sling it properly over Tom's 
shoulder," said Mr. Seymour. 

" I wiU carry the string," exclaimed Louisa ; "how nicely 
it is wound round the stick!" 

On the arrival of the party at Overton Heath, the weather 
was found propitious to their adventure ; the kite impatiently 
fluttered in the breeze, while Tom was eagerly engaged in 
unwinding its streaming tail, and preparing the paper ma- 
chine for ascent. 

" Is the string fixed to the beUy-band ?" asked Mr. Seymour. 

" All is ready," replied the vicar ; " and I "will hold it up, 
■while Tom runs with it against the wind. Had King Eric 
set his cap for us, we could not have had a more favorable 
breeze." 

" There is not the least occasion to raise the kite from the 
ground," observed Mr. Seymour ; " let its point rest on the 
grass, and place its tail in a straight line in front of it ; I war- 
rant you it Avill rise, as soon as Tom begins to run." 

Tom immediately set oft", and the kite rose majestically into 
the an*. 



MADE SCIENCE m EARNEST. 151 

" Give it string — give it string — gently, gently — now stop ; 
there is no occasion for your running any further, but let out 
the cord, as long as the kite carries it off vigorously, and 
keeps it fuUy stretched ; but wind it up the moment its ten- 
sion is relaxed." 

"It is rising very fast," cried the breathless boy, " but the 
string burns my hand as it passes through it ; I shall not be 
able to endure the heat." 

" Be patient, and let it pass more slowly ; put on your 
glove," said his father. 

"Ay, ay; imt on your glove," repeated the vicar; "even 
Xenophon himself, who declaimed so warmly against the 
effeminacy of the Persians, for wearing gloves, would scarcely 
have refused his consent to their use on such an occasion." 

" Nor did the old Grecian warrior, Laertes, disdain the pro- 
tection of gloves against the thorns and thistles, whUe work- 
ing in his garden,"* added Mr. Seymour, to the no small sat- 
isfaction of his classical friend. 

" What is it that produces so much heat ?" inquired Louisa. 

" The friction of the string," replied her father ; "do you 
not know that carriages frequently catch fire from the fric- 
tion of their wheels, unless it be prevented by the apphcation 
of grease ?" 

" Yes," said Tom ; " and I have heard that the natives of 
some countries kindle their fires by rubbing pieces of wood 
together." 

" The original inhabitants of the new world," observed his 
father, "throughout the whole extent from Patagonia to 
Greenland, procured fire by rubbing pieces of hard and dry 
wood against each other, until they emitted sparks, or burst 
into flame ; some of the people to the north of California pro- 
duced the same effect by inserting a kind of pivot in the hole 
of a very thick plank, and causing it to revolve with extreme 
rapidity : the same principle will explain how immense forests 
may have been consumed ; for it is evident, that the violent 
friction of the branches against each other from the agitation 

* Odyss, 



153 PHlLOaOPHY m SPOKT 

of the wind, would be fully adequate to the production of 
such an effect." 

" You have also an excellent example of the effect of fric- 
tion in producing heat," said the vicar, " in the history of the 
whale fishery ; for, ia harpooning the fish, unless the sailors 
observe the greatest caution in letting out the rope, its Mc- 
tion upon the side of their boat will be sure to set it on fire." 

"And how do they manage it?" asked Louisa. 

"As soon as the whale dives (4), after having been wound- 
ed, it draws out the line or cord of the harpoon, which is 
coiled up in the boat, with very considerable velocity. In 
order, therefore, to prevent any accident fi-om the violence of 
this motion, one man is stationed with an axe to cut it asun- 
der, if it should become entangled ; while another, with a 
mop, is constantly cooHng with Avater the channel through 
which it passes." 

" The kite is now at a considerable height," observed Tom : 
" but look at the string, how bent it is ! I have repeatedly 
endeavored to pull it straight, but without success." 

" How could you have expected to succeed in the attempt ? 
Consider the weight of such a long line of string." 

" Then it is not the pressure of the atmosphere which gives 
it that curved form ?" 

" Assuredly not : have you so soon forgotten that the air 
presses equally in all directions, and would therefore tend to 
straighten, as much as to give a curved direction to the 
string ? But, as you now appear to have let out the whole 
of your string, suppose you allow the kite to enjoy its airing, 
while we proceed to consider the philosophy of its ascent, 
and the nature and direction of those forces by which it is 
effected." 

" The kite pulls so amazingly hard," cried Tom, " that un- 
less I fix the string secm-ely round the tree, we shall run the 
chance of losing it." 

" I am well aware of the force it exerts," rephed his father, 
" Dr. Franklin has said, that, with a good kite, a man unable 
',0 swim might be sustained in the water, so as to pass from 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 153 

Dover to Calais ; but I agree with him iu thiiiking, that a 
packet would be a much safer as weU as a pleasanter mode 
of conveyance." 

"Now, then, for your explanation of the kite's ascent. 
Unless I am mistaken, you wiU find the subject much more 
compHcated than you imagine," said the vicar. 

" Not at all ; Tom, who, I trust, has a perfect acquaintance 
with the composition and resolution of forces, will very readily 
understand the explanation I propose to ofier. I admit, how- 
ever, that there are some few points in the mquiry, which 
cannot be successfully treated without a knowledge of the 
higher branches of mathematics ; but I shall, of course, avoid 
all such difficulties.* Can you teU me, Tom, what advantage 
is gained by your running with the kite ?" asked Mr. Sey- 
mour. 

" I suppose that you thus obtain more force from the wind." 
. " Certainly : action and reaction are equal. By running, 
therefore, with your kite against the wind, you strilce the air, 
and thus produce a reaction, which is equal to the force of 
the blow given to it. When the wind is high, and its action 
is not intercepted by surrounding objects, there cannot exist 
any necessity for such an expedient." 

" The principle is the same as that which enables the bird 
to rise into the air by flapping its wings," observed the vicar. 

" Unquestionably," repUed Mr. Seymour. 

" Does the kite, then, rise in the air from the same causes 
that enable a bird to fly ?" asked Tom. 

" We are not at present considering the ascent of the kite, 
but the advantage which is obtained by running with it : this 
latter, as the vicar has properly observed, undoubtedly de- 
pends upon the same principle as that which enables the bird 
to rise, by the motion of its wings, and which constitutes the 
third law of motion,t viz., that action and reaction are equal ; 

* Those readers, who are inclined to enter more deeply into the subject, 
may consult, with advantage, a memoir on the kite, by Euler, published in 
the Transactions of the Academy of Berlin for the year 1756. 

+ See p. 73. 



154 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOKT 

tliat is to say, whenever one body exerts a force upon another, 
the second body opposes the first, with equal force, in an op- 
posite direction. If, then, the bird strikes the aii* below it 
with a force which is equal to its weight, then must there be 
a reaction of the air, upward, exactly equal to it ; and the 
bird, being acted upon by two equal forces, in opposite du'ec- 
tions, will, necessarily, rest between them." 

" That is clear enough, but the bird 7'ise«," answered Tom. 

" Because the force of the stroke is greater than the weight 
of the bird, and it therefore rises with the difference of these 
two forces ; were the stroke less than its weight, then would 
it sink with the difference. Suppose, for example, a bird 
Aveighs twelve ounces, and it strikes the air with a force equal 
to sixteen^ is it not clear that it must rise with a force equal 
to four? and is it not evident that, if it strikes the air with a 
force equal only to eight, that it must sink with a force equal 
to four ?^^ 

" So fixr I understand it perfectly ; but I was thinking that, 
as the wing flaps up and down, what was gained by striking 
the air downward must be counterbalanced when the bird 
raised her wing again, and thus struck the an* in the contrary 
direction," observed Tom. 

' " I give you no small degree of credit for that remark," 
said his father ; " for it is undoubtedly true that, if the flapping 
of the wings in flight were no more than the motion of the 
same surface upward and downward, the bird must lose as 
much by one motion as she could gain by the other : the 
skylark could never ascend oy such an action, for, as you have 
so justly remarked, although the stroke upon the air by the 
under side of her wing would carry her up, the stroke from 
the upper side, when she raised her wing again, Avould biing 
her down ; but if you will attentively examine the structure 
of the wing, you will at once perceive, from its external con- 
vexity, the disposition, and more particularly the overlapping 
of its larger feathers, that Avhen the wing is drawn up, its 
surface is contracted, and Avhen let down fully expanded — 
or, in other words, tliat the feathers strike the air downward 



MADE SCIENgE IN EARNEST. 155 



with their flat side, hut rise from the stroke slantwise, just 
as tlio rower in a boat, after having given the stroke, turns 
his oar so as only to present its edge, an operation which is 
termed feathering^ from its resemblance to this very action 
of the wing in flight." 

" It appears to me that flying is an easy process," said Tom ; 
'•' could we not contrive some sort of flapper, by which we 
might be able to rise into the air." 

" Your opinion, my dear boy, is by no means singular ; 
hundreds have entertained the same belief before you ; and 
so c(mfident was the famous Bishop Wilkins, that he declared 
it to be his conviction, that, in future ages, it will be as usual 
to hear a man call for his wings, as it is now to call for his 
boots." 

" Yes," said the vicar ; " and if my memory is correct, 
"William of Malmesbury, in his account of the Conquest of 
England by the Normans, mentions a Benedictine monk, by 
the name of Elmer, who having aflixed wings to his hands 
and feet, ascended a lofty tower whence he took his flight, but 
he fell to the ground and broke both his legs." — " Pennis non 
liomini datis.^^* 

" I do not see the difficulty," exclaimed Tom. 

" The weight of our bodies is so great that we have not 
sufficient muscular strength to impart a bloAV to the air that 
shall be equal to it. Now are you satisfied?" said his father. 

" I am perfectly satisfied, if that bo the case, that we can 
never hope to fly." 

" The principle, however, which I have just explained," 
observed Mr. Seymour, " although it will fail us in our at- 
• tempts to construct wings, is nevertheless extensively appli- 

♦ "Artists," observes M. Oersted, "err greatly in attaching wings to human 
figures, of such a size, and so placed as to lead the litiagination to accept tiiem 
as real, instead of emblematic organs of flight. We are taught by comparative 
anatomy that in all vertebrate animals wings are only formed by a peculiar 
development of the instruments of motion belonging to the fore parts of the 
body ; the representation of the liuman figure with wings and arms is there- 
fore a monstrous absurdity ; and the supernatural idea, by such an attempt to 
malie it appear natural, is rendered unnatural.'' — T/ie Soul in Nature. 



156 PHILOSOPHY. IN SPOET 

cable in mechanics. A vane or fly, for instance, by resisting 
tbe air as it spins round, becomes the regulator of machinery. 
The intervals between the strokes on the bell of a clock ai-e 
thus regulated, and the fly, on this occasion, is so contrived 
that this interval may be altered, or the clock made to strike 
faster or slowei", by presenting the arms of it more or less 
obliquely to the direction in which they move. The same 
kind of fly is the regulator used in musical boxes, as I wiU 
presently show you, and indeed in almost all mechanical toys ; 
and, moreover, a fly of this kind, provided its arms be set at 
a proper angle, and a rapid spinning motion be given to it, 
will actually take flight, and rise to a very considerable ele- 
vation, and thus realize the idea of a flying machine. 1 have 
such an apparatus, and intend to call it The Flying Top. 
On our return you shall see it — ^but at present we have to 
proceed with the subject of the kite ; for, as yet, we have 
merely considered the effect of increasing the wind upon its 
surface : we have next to inquire how the wind operates in 
raising it into the air. — Do you not remember, when I ad- 
justed the noose in the belly-band, I stated that much de- 
pended upon this part of the apparatus ? You will at once 
perceive that it will influence the angle which the kite forma 
with the earth ; and I am about to prove to you that the 
theory of the kite's ascent is materially connected with the 
value of this angle; but. in order to render my explanation 
intelligible, I have prepared a diagram, to which I am desir- 
ous of directing your attention. 




" The kite here appears in the act of rising from the ground , 
the line w will represent the direction of the wind blowing 



MADE 6CIKNCE IN P:AKNEST. 157 

upon it, all the currents of which we will suppose united in 
one ; it is evident, from what has been already stated, that 
as it falls upon an oblique surface, it will be resolved into 
two forces, viz., into one parallel with it, and into another 
perpendicular to that surface ; of which the force represented 
by the line t will alone produce any effect, carrying the kite 
along the line o a, or in a direction parallel to itself; and 
you must have observed that this was the direction in which 
the kite was impelled, when you suffered it to rise, without 
checking its progi*ess by the string." 

"I remember that well," said Tom; " and I also observed 
that, when I pulled my string, the kite immediately rose more 
perpendicularly." 

" To be sure it did ; because by that operation, you called a 
new force into action ; which I have represented in the diagram 
by the line s t. The kite was therefore under the influence of 
the two forces o a and s x, and, since these are in the direc- 
tion of the two sides of a parallelogram, it would not obey 
either, but ascend through o b, its diagonal." 

" Notwithstanding Mr. Twaddleton's doubts upon the sub- 
ject," said Tom, " I am sure that I perfectly understand your 
explanation ; and I think I may also answer for my sister : 
but you have not yet told us any thing about the tail ; I sup- 
pose, however, that it acts like the rudder of a ship, or the 
tail of a bird." 

" Before I answer that question, let me inform you how 
the tail of a bu-d differs, in its action and uses, from the rud- 
der of a ship. In the first place, the rudder is so fixed that 
it can but move in one horizontal plane, and can therefore 
only turn the vessel to the right or left, which, indeed, is all 
that is required (5) ; but the tail of the bird, in addition to 
this motion, can be placed in a diagonal direction, and when 
expanded will offer a considerable surface to the air, so as to 
fulfill some of the ofiices of a third wing. Have you never 
watched the maneuvers of the rook, as he gambols through 
the air ? After flying in the ordinary way, you will observe 
his vdngs at rest, and that he glides along apparently without 



158 PHILOSOrHY m SPOET 

the least exertion in liis descent. In this case his expanded 
wings act as a parachute ; then, again, you will ohserve him 
wheeling round, a maneuver which is partly produced by the 
oblique position of his tail, and which is readily explained 
upon the principle of the resolution of forces I have just de- 
scribed with reference to the action of the wind upon the 
surface of the kite (6). I ought also to state, that the tail 
serves to poise the body of the bird." 

" Does the bird, then, never use its wings for the purpose 
of directing its course?" asked Louisa. 

" Undoubtedly it does," answered her father ; " the tail is 
only to be considered as a supplementary organ : it is by 
means of the wings that it generally directs its course, for it 
is evident that it can easily turn, either to the right or left, 
by flapping the opposite wing with increased force, just as a 
boat is turned about to the right, by a brisk application of 
the left oar. In like manner the irregular flight of the butter- 
fly, now up and now down, now to the right and now to the 
left, is no doubt effected by the wings striking the air one 
after the other, or perhaps with an alternate and unequal 
force. The object of such an action is obviously to baffle the 
pursuit of birds which fly in a right line, whereas you see the 
butterfly does just the contrary." (7.) 

" How very wonderful," said Louisa, " is the action of the 
wings of insects ! I have often watched them during their 
flight, and their rapidity is such as to surpass the power of 
vision." 

" I shall have occasion to advert to that subject hereafter," 
said Mr. Seymour ; " at present I shall only observe that a 
gnat's wing, in its ordinary flight, beats many hundred times 
in a second." 

" But you have not yet answered Tom's question," said the 
vicar. " Of what use is the tafl of the kite ? Does it assist 
its ascent, or is it merely an appendage of ornament ?" 

" In the first place, it keeps the head of the kite to the 
wind, and prevents its lower half from going too far to lee- 
ward ; and in the next, it lowers its center of gravity, and 



MADE SCIEKCE JN EARNEST. 159 

tlirows it towards its extremity, "whicli not only prevents the 
chance of the machine being upset in the air, but it so poises 
and regulates the position of the kite as to maintain the angle 
which it is necessary for the string to make with the surface." 

Mr. Twaddleton here inquired what might be the most 
advantageous angle for the kite to form with the horizon, in or- 
der that the paper machine should rise to the greatest altitude. 

" If the wind be horizontal," answered Mr. Seymour, " it 
is evident that the inchnation of the kite's surface ought 
to be the same as that which the rudder of a ship should 
make with the keel, in order that the vessel may be turned 
with the greatest facility ; supposing the currents of water, 
which impel it, to have a direction parallel to the keel." 

"And what ought that angle to be?" inquired the vicar. 

'•'■ Fifty -four degrees and forty four minutes," replied Mr. 
Seymour ; " and let me here remark," continued he, " as we 
have already considered the philosophy of the flight of a bird, 
that its pinions are so set upon the body as to bring down the 
wings in an oblique direction towards the tail ; so that in 
their action upon the air we have the same resolution of 
forces as in that of the wind upon the surface of the kite, by 
which the body of the bird is not only supported, or raised 
perpendicularly, but carried forward." (8.) 

Tom here interrupted the dialogue, by expressing a regret 
that he should have been provided with so small a quantity 
of cord. 

" I do not beheve, my dear boy, that any advantage could 
be gained by an additional quantity of string," said his father. 

" Is there, then, any reason why the kite should not ascend, 
even above the clouds, provided that my string were suffi- 
ciently long and strong?" 

" Yes ; indeed there is a most unanswerable reason. Ee- 
member that the kite is made to rise by the operation of two 
forces ; the one affi)rded by the wind, the other by the action 
of the string; now, it is quite evident that, when the weight 
of the string, added to that of the kite itself, becomes equal 
to the force of tlie wind, acting upon the surface of the ma- 



160 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

cliine, a general balance, or equilibrium of forces will be 
established, and the kite can no longer continue to ascend." 

" Will it, then, remain stationary under these cu'cumstan- 
ces ?" asked Louisa. 

" It must do so, unless the force of the wind should abate ; 
for it is a proposition in mechanics, which I shall hereafter 
endeavor to demonstrate (9), that, if a body be acted upon 
by thi-ee forces, which are proportional to, and in the direc- 
tion of the three sides of a triangle, it will be kept at rest. 
The kite is exactly in this predicament, for its weight, the 
force of the wind, and the action of the string fulfill these 
conditions, and consequently keep the kite stationary." 

" Then I must give Up my intention of trying to raise the 
kite above the clouds," said Tom. 

" Although you may not be able to raise any single kite to 
the altitude you may desire, it is easy to accomplish your plan 
by a series of kites ; the string of the first being attached to 
the back of the second, and so on." 

"How, papa? I do not exactly understand you." 

" Your kite," said Mr. Seymour, " is now as high in the 
air as the force of the wind is capable of raising it ; suppose 
you were to fix the end. of the string you hold in your hand 
to the back of another kite, would not this second kite ascend 
as high as your first, by the same force, and your first kite 
therefore rise to double the altitude it is at present ? In hke 
manner you might attach a third kite, and so on." 

" Now I comprehend it ; and I should much like to try the 
experiment," said Tom. 

" You shall certainly witness the effect I have described ; 
but you must provide yourself with some stout string, for the 
force which the kites exert when thus arranged, is greater 
than you can easily imagine ; indeed I question whether you 
would be able to hold them," observed his father. 

Mr. Twaddleton here informed the young party that he 
had himself witnessed a carriage containing three persons that 
had been drawn along the road by kites, at the rate of from 
fifteen to twenty miles an hour. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 161 

" I have seen the account of it," said Mr. Seymour, " and 
if I remember right, tlie principal kite was preceded at the 
distance of about 120 feet by a smaller pilot one, which served 
to direct it away from any obstacles, such as trees, houses, 
&c., with which it might otherwise have come in contact." 

" But liow was the pilot-kite made obedient to the wiU of 
the driver ?" asked Louisa. 

" By means of strings so attached to it that its surface was 
ea^^ily made to altgr its angular position," answered Mr. Sey- 
mour. 

" If my twine should snap," said Tom, whose attention was 
suddenly drawn to his kite from a slight unsteadiness in its 
motion, arising from a gust of wind, " we could easily recover 
it, that is one good thing ; for it is hovering over the open 
field at the end of the heath." 

" If you imagine that the kite, under such circumstances, 
would faU upon the spot directly under it, you are much de- 
ceived : recollect that, if the string should snap, the kite 
woidd be abandoned to two forces, those of the wind and its 
own gravity ; and you wiU perceive that, under such circum- 
stances, it could not obey either of them, but would fall in an 
intermediate or diagonal dnection. This fact wiU be ren- 
dered apparent by the annexed diagram, b a may be sup- 
posed to represent the force and direction of the wind acting 
upon the kite, and b d that of 
its gravity ; then it is evident 
that, under the influence of these 
joint forces, it would describe 
the diagonal, and for reasons al- 
ready explained, that line must 
necessarily be the curve b f." 

" Come," said the vicar, "be- 
fore Tom draws down his kite, 
let us send up a messenger." 

" What may that be?" asked 
Louisa. 

" A piece of paper or pasteboard, which, on being Intro- 




162 PHILOSOPHY EST SPOET 

duced upon the string, is blown along the line up to the 
kite." 

The messenger was accordingly prepared, and, being placed 
npon the string, it ascended as Mr. Seynjour had anticipated. 
While this operation was in progress, the vicar stood ear- 
nestly gazing upon the kite, and, at length, burst forth in the 
following animated soliloquy : 

" Assuredly this must be acknowledged as a most beauti- 
ful and imposing toy ! Fastidious or insensible must be that 
person, who does not feel exhilarated as he gazes on the kite, 
proudly floating under the canopy of heaven, and reflecting 
the departing smiles of the evening sun, after it had ceased to 
cheer us below." 

" It has been said," observed Mr. Seymour, " to the dis- 
paragement of kite-flying, that as soon as the machine haa 
been raised into the air, and all the string let out, the excite- 
ment of the sport is at an end, and that, as nothing farther 
can be achieved, the interest of the performer from that mo- 
ment begins to languish ; now, at this period, the messenger 
wOl open a new source of pleasure and instruction, and may, 
by a httle ingenuity, be made to afford a great diversity of 
amusement. I have therefore provided myself with several 
varieties of this machine. Here is one in the form of a 
dragon, which, as it ascends, produces a very striking and 
almost magical effect. See, there it goes!" 

The children were delighted, for the string upon whici it 
was carried became at a certain height invisible ; so that the 
figure appeared like a monster hovering in the air. 

" I will now show you a winged variety of this apparatus, 
which we will name the Brompton Messenger* It consists 
of a hollow cyhnder of thin wood, the diameter of which is 
sufficiently large to aUow its free revolution round the string 
of the kite. To this cylinder are attached several flappers, 
or sails, in an oblique direction, like those of the ' Flying Top* 

* From associations of an interesting nature connected with the residenc« 
of the author's children with kind and beloved friends for many a successive 
autumn. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 163 

(p. 259), each of which is covered with paper of a different 
color. The action of the wind upon those obhque surfaces 
necessarily occasions a rapid rotation, upon a principle which 
I shall presently explain ; and the beautiful effect thus pro- 
duced, as the whu-ling body ascends, must be seen before it 
can be appreciated. I have some other contrivances of a 
similar nature, which it is my intention to prepare for your 
future amusement." (10.) 

" Has the kite ever been applied to any useful purpose ?" 
asked Tom. 

" Certainly," answered his father. " It was by means of 
the kite that Dr. Franklin was enabled to demonstrate the 
identity of electricity and the cause of hghtning, and thos to 
disclose one of the most awful mysteries of nature." 

" Pray do tell us something about this electrical kite, papa," 
said Louisa. 

" Not at present, my love ; it would divert us too much 
from the subjects in which we are engaged ; at some future 
period I shall have much pleasure in introducing you into 
these fairy regions of philosophy." 

" I just now remember reading in Miss Edgeworth's ' Harrj 
and Lucy,' " said Louisa, " something about a kite and Pom- 
pey's pillar." 

" I am glad that you have reminded me of that story," 
repHed Mr. Seymour ; " I wUl relate it to you. Some Eng- 
lish sailors laid a wager that they would drink a bowl of 
punch on the summit of Pompey's pUlar. Now, that pillar is 
almost a hundred feet high, and it is quite smooth, so that 
there was no way of chmbing to the top, even for sailors, who 
are such experienced cUmbers : so they flew their kite ex- 
actly over the pillar, and when it came down on the opposite 
side, the string lay across the top of the capital. By means 
of this string, they pulled a small rope over, and by this a 
larger one, that was able to bear the weight of a man ; a pul- 
ley was then fastened to the end of the large rope, and drawn 
close up to the upper edge of the capital ; and then, you per- 
ceive, they could easily hoist each other up. They did more, 



164 pniLOSOPHT IN SPOET 

for they hoisted the English flag on the top, and then drank 
the bowl of punch and won their wager." 

" That is a very good story," said the vicar, "but I cannot 
help regretting that so much ingenuity and labor should not 
have had a nobler end to accomplish." 

" There is some truth in that observation," said Mr. Sey- 
mour, " and I wUl, therefore, relate another story which shall 
be more congenial to your heart, and in which the kite will 
present itself in a more interesting point of view, for, instead 
of enabling the sailors to drink a bowl of punch at any alti- 
tude otherwise inaccessible, we shall find it engaged in res- 
cuing them from the horrors of shipwreck."* 

" Pray proceed, papa." 

" No, my dear, upon reflection, I think it wiU be better that 
we should postpone the story, until you return to the lodge, 
when you shaU read it in ' Harry and Lucy.' But before we 
lose sight of the useful applications of the kite, let me tell you 
how greatly it served the Arctic voyagers in their late search 
after Franklin and his companions. By harnessing it to their 
sledges they were enabled to travel hundreds of miles over the 
ice before a stiff breeze. I will also point out to you, in the 
sam.e work, an account of a new and useful application of the 
messenger, which will prove that the faculties of youth may 
be increased and improved by those very amusements which 
are too generally regarded as idle and unprofitable : I shaU at 
the same time exhibit one or two experiments in illustration 
of the nature and causes of wind." 

" ShaU we not return immediately ?" 

" No, my dear ; it would not be in my power to attend 
you at present ; but join me in the library after dinner : Mr. 
Twaddleton wiU now accompany me to the village, and do 
you remain and enjoy the amusement of your kite." 

At the time appointed Tom and his sisters requested 
their father to fulfill the promises he had made them in the 
morning. 

* Transactions of the Society for the enconragement of Arts, vol. xli. • and 
Miss Edgeworth's Harry and Lucy, vol. iv. p. 2S8. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAENEST, 165 



" You told us," said Louisa, " that you would give us some 
information about the wind ; the subject has been puzzling 
me ever since, for I cannot make out the cause of it." 

" "Wind, my love, is nothing more than air in motion ; and 
is produced by a large volume of it flowing in a current or 
stream, from one place or region to another, and with differ- 
ent velocities." 

"And what can produce these currents?" asked Tom. 

" After the explanation of the action of the pump, I do not 
think that I shall have much difficulty in making you under- 
stand the nature of the operations by which wind is occa- 
sioned. Suppose a partial vacuum should be formed in any 
region, would not the neighboring air immediately rush in to 
supply the deficiency and restore the balance?" 

" Undoubtedly ; fi'om the pressure of the air behind it." 

" Heat," continued Mr. Seymour, " will produce a partial 
vacuum by rarefying the air, and thus rendering it lighter ; 
in consequence of which it wiU ascend, and the colder air 
will rush in to supply its place." 

" I do not exactly see why the rarefied air should ascend," 
observed Louisa : "it appears to offer an exception to the 
general law of gravity." 

" Not at all ; on the contrary its ascent is occasioned by 
the force of gravity : in the first place, however, to prove 
the fact that heated air does actually ascend, we have only 
to observe the direction of smoke as it issues from the chim- 
ney : this consists of minute particles of fuel carried up, by 
a current of heated air, from the fire below ; and as soon as 
this current is cooled by mixing with that of the atmosphere, 
the minute particles of coal fall, and produce the small black 
flakes which render the air, and every thing in contact with 
it, so dirty in a populous city." 

" But I want to know, papa, what it is which causes the 
hot air to ascend ?" 

" The greater weight of the cold air above it, which gets, 
as it were, beneath the lighter air, and obliges it to rise ; just 
in the same way as a piece of cork, at the bottom of an 



166 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOKT 

empty vessel, is made to rise to the surface of the water which 
may be poured into it." 

" Now I understand it ; pray, therefore, proceed with your 
account of the wind. You have just said that heat rarefies 
the air, and causes it to ascend." 

" And thus produces a current of air, or a wind.'''' 

" Is heat, then, the cause of wind, papa ?" asked Tom. 

" It is one great cause ; but there are, probably, several 
others ; I wUl, however, exemplify this subject by an experi- 
ment." ' X 

So saying, Mr. Seymour produced a water-plate, a large 
dish, and a jug filled with cold water. The bell was rung, 
and the servant entered with a tea-kettle of boiling water. 
The large dish was then filled with the cold, and the water- 
plate with the boiling fluid. 

" Let this large dish represent the ocean," said Mr. Sey- 
mour, " and this water-plate, which I will now place in its 
center, an island in that ocean ; for the land, fi'om receiving 
the rays of the sun, will be more heated than the water, and 
wiU consequently rarefy the air above it. — ^llf ow, Tom, light 
me the wax-taper." 

"I have done so." 
• " Then blow it out." 

"I cannot imagine what you are about, papa; — 'Light the 
candle and then blow it out!' — ^but it still smokes; shall I 
put the extinguisher over it ?" 

" By no means ; give it to me and observe what will hap- 
pen when I carry it round the edge of the dish." 

" Why, only see !" cried Tom ; " Louisa has actually blown 
it in again. — How could that happen?" 

" Do not interrupt our experiment just now, and I wUl 
explain ifc afterward. (11.) Now blow it out once more," 
said Mr. Seymour. 

" I have done so, and the smoke goes to the center," ex- 
claimed Tom. 

" Showing, thereby, the existence of a current toward the 
water-plate, or island; in consequence of the air above it 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAENEST. 



167 



having been heated, and therefore rarefied. This explains, m 
a very satisfactory manner, a fact which naay be constantly 
observed in our own chmate, viz., a gentle breeze blowing 
from the sea to the land in the heat of the day. IJpon the 
same principle it is, that most of the winds in different parts 
of the globe may be readily accounted for." 

" I suppose," said Tom, " that the air must rush with great 
velocity, in order to produce wind." 

"A very general error prevails upon this subject; the 
rate of motion has been greatly exaggerated. In a brisk 
gale, even, the wind does not travel with such velocity but 
that it may be easily traced by the eye ; and tin , sailor is 
able to watch its progress by the ripple which it produces on 
the sea." 

" Has, then, the rate of its motion ever been estimated ?' 
asked Louisa. 

" When its velocity is about two mUes per hour, it is only 
just perceptible. In a high wind, the air travels thirty or 
forty miles in the same period. In a storm, its rate has been 
computed as being from sixty to eighty mUes. It has also 
been ascertained by experiment that the air, as it rushes from 
a pair of blacksmith's bellows, has not a velocity above that 
of five-and-forty miles in the hour." 

" At what rate should you think 
the air traveled this morning, when 
we flew our kite ?" inquired Louisa. 

"I should think at about five 
miles an hour, for it was a pleasant 
but gentle breeze." 

Mr. Seymour now, at the earnest 
request of the whole party, who 
had been on the tiptoe of expecta- 
tion, produced his " flting-top," of 
which the reader is here presented 
with a representation. 

"This httle machine consists, as you may observe, of a 
flyer, with tliree vanes, the form of each being that of the seg- 




168 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOE-1 

ment of a circle, the obliquity of whose surface increases as 
it recedes from the center of motion ; this flyer, as you see, 
is attached to a spindle, around which the string that is to 
set it in motion is carefully wound, and the whole is adapted 
to a stand. Let us now join the vicar on the lawn, where we 
can conveniently put it into action." 

The stump of a tree afforded a rest for the stand, which 
Mr. Seymour held firmly in an inclined position with his left 
hand, while with his right he vigorously pulled the string. 
Away whirled the flyer, and in a second it rose majestically 
from the stand, and, whizzing through the air, attained a very 
considerable altitude, no less to the astonishment than to the 
delight of the party. After several repetitions of the experi- 
ment, Mr. Seymour thus proceeded to explain the philosophy 
of its flight. 

" After the explanation you have already received regard- 
ing the flight of a bird, you will very readily understand the 
question before us. It is evident that the oblique vanes, by 
striking the air during their rapid rotation, must produce a 
reaction on tholr under surfaces." 

" Exactly so," oried Tom ; " and if that reaction be greater 
than is sufiicient to counteract its gravity, the flyer must 
ascend in the air, just as the bird does, in prriportion to that 
excess." 

" You are quite right," continued his father, " and I need 
hardly remind you of the importance of atteadin^ to the an- 
gular adjustment of the vanes to insure the greatest effect ; it 
should be such as to make aU the forces conspire, and you 
wiU recollect that the efficient force will be in a dii-ection per ■ 
pendicular to each inclined vane." 



MADE SCIENCE IN BAKNEST. 



169 




CHAPTBE IX. 



A SHORT DISCOURSE. THE SHUTTLECOCK. ITS CONSTRUCTION. THE 

SOLUTION OF TWO PROBLEMS CONNECTED WITH ITS FLIGHT. THE 

WINDMILL. THE SMOKEJACK. A TOY CONSTRUCTED ON THE SAME 

PRINCIPLE. THE BOW AND ARROW. ARCHERY. THE ARRIVAL OF 

ISABELLA TILLERS. 



Me. Twaddleton, on his arrival at the Lodge on the fol- 
lowing morning, was informed that Miss Villers was expected 
at Overton in the evening. 

"Your account of that young lady," observed the vicar, 
" has greatly prepossessed me in her favor ; I only hope that 
she is not too JZ-we." 

"I care not how blue the stockings of a lady may be," 
said Mr. Seymour, " ' provided her petticoats be long enough 
to hide thera ;' and from my knowledge of Miss ViUers, I can 
assure you, exalted as are her attainments, they are so veiled 
by feminine delicacy and reserve, that they may insidiously 
win, but will never extort our homage." 



170 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

"Ay, ay," exclaimed the vicar; "I perfectly agree •with 
yon in your idea of feminine perfection — short tongues and 
long petticoats, Mr. Seymour. But where are my little play- 
mates ?" 

" I left Tom and Fanny on the terrace, a short time since, 
very husily engaged in the game of shuttlecock and battle- 
door."* 

" The shuttlecock is an ancient sport," observed Mr. Twad- 
dleton. " It is represented in a manuscript as far back as the 
fourteenth century : and it became a fashionable game among 
grown persons in the reign of James the Fkst. In China the 
shuttlecock is made of feathers and lead, and is played by be- 
ing struck up by the soles of the feet. A toy of this kind 
may be seen in the Ethnological room in the British Mu- 
seum." 

" It is a very healthy pastime," said Mr. Seymour, " and, 
in my opinion, is admirably calculated for females ; for it ex- 
pands the chest, while it creates a graceful pliancy of the 
limbs." 

" I entirely agree with you ; it is the only game with which 
I am acquainted, in which muscular exercise is gained with- 
out compromising gracefuhiess. But see, here come the 
two young rogues." 

" Papa," exclaimed Tom, " I have been considering whether 
there is any philosophy in the game of shuttlecock." 

" There are two circumstances connected with its flight, 
which certainly will admit of explanation upon scientific prin- 
ciples ; and I should much like to hear whether you can ap- 
ply them for that purpose. The first is its spinning motion 
in the air ; the second, the regularity with which its base of 
cork always presents itself to the battledoor ; so that, after 
you have struck it, it turns round, and arrives at your sis- 

* Shuttlecock, more correctly, perhaps, ShntHecork, although Skinner 
thinks it is called cock from its feathers. Battledoor, so called from Door, 
taken for a flat board ; and battle for striking, i. e., a striking-board. Thom- 
son thinks that the true derivation is from the Spanish Batidor, a beator or 
•tHker, and that the -game was introduced from the Peninsula. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 171 

ter's battledoor in a position to bo again struck by her, and 
sent back to you." 

" I perfectly understand what you mean ; but I really am not 
able to explain the motions to which you allude," said Tom. 

" The revolution of the shuttlecock, about its axis, entirely 
depends upon the impulse of the wind on the oblique sui-faces 
of its feathers ; so that it is often necessary to trim the 
feathers of a new shuttlecock, before it will spin." 

" I understand you, papa ; the force of the wind, by strik- 
ing the oblique feathers, is resolved into a perpendicular and 
parallel force, as you explained to us when we considered the 
9,ction of the wind upon the kite." 

" Exactly ; every oblique direction of a motion is the diag- 
onal of a parallelogram, whose perpendicular and parallel 
directions are the two sides. Having settled this point, let 
us consider the second, viz., how it happens that the cork of 
the shuttlecock always presents itself to the battledoor." 

" I should think," said Tom, " that the cork points to the 
battledoor for the same reason that the weathercock always 
points to the wind." 

" Admirably illustrated !" exclaimed his father ; " the cork 
will always go foremost, because the air must exert a greater 
force over the Mghter feathers, and therefore retard their pro- 
gress ; but I must also direct your attention to the shape oi 
the cork, which you may perceive to be conical^ giving to the 
shuttlecock a readier passage through the air. Now this fact 
has an especial interest at the present time, fi-om recent experi- 
ments showing the superior advantage of conical bullets in 
rifles ; but we will talk to the major about it. While we are 
upon this subject, I wDl introduce to your notice some con- 
trivances which are indebted to this same principle for their 
operation. In the first place, there is the arrow ; can you 
tell me, Louisa, the use of the feathers which are placed round 
its extremity?" 

" To make its head proceed foremost in the air, by render- 
ing its other end Ughter, and therefore more sensible to tho 
resistance of the air." 



172 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

" Yery well answered : that is, unquestionably, one of the 
objects of the wings of an arrow ; but there is also another, 
that of rifling it, or steadying its progressive motion, by 
causing it to revolve around its axis. If you wUl look at this 
arrow, you will perceive that the feathers are placed nearly, 
but not quite, in planes passing through it : if the feathers 
were exactly in this plane, the air could not strike against 
their surfaces when the arrow is in motion : but since they 
are not perfectly straight, but always a little aslant, the air 
necessarily strikes them as the arrow moves forward ; by 
which force the feathers are turned round, and with them the 
arrow or reed ; so that a motion is generated about its axis ; 
and its velocity wUl increase with the obliquity of the feathers. 
You wUl therefore observe that, in order to enable the feathers 
to offer a necessary resistance to the air, they must possess a 
certain degree of stiffness or inflexibility. It was on this ac- 
count that Roger Ascham,* and other skillful artists in the 
days of archery, preferred the feathers of a goose of two or 
three years old, especially such as drop of themselves, for 
pluming the arrow ; and the importance, as well as the theory 
of this choice, is confirmed by a curious observation of Ger- 
vase Markham,t who says that 'the peacock feather was 
sometimes used at the short butt ; yet seldom or ever, did it 
Tceep the shaft either right or level ! ' " 

" That is intelligible enough," said Tom ; " the feather of 
the peacock must have been so flexible as to have yielded to 
the slightest breath of air ; and now, as we are upon the sub- 
ject of the arrow, do explain to us the action of the bow." 

"I shaU readily comply with your request before we part; 
but I am desirous, at present, of following up the subject be- 
fore us, and of taking into consideration some other instru- 
ments which owe their motions to the action of the air upon 
obhque surfaces." 

" Suppose," said the vicar, "you explain to them the action 
of the wind upon the saUs of the mill." 

• Toxoph. ed. 15T1, folio 166. t Markham's Art of Archerie, 1634. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EABNEST. 173 

"I should like to hear something about the windmill," ob- 
served Tom : " and perhaps Mr. Twaddleton can teh us who 
invented the machine." 

" The invention is not of very remote date. According to 
some authors, windmills were first used in France in the sixth 
century ; while others maintain that they were brought to 
Europe in the time of the crusades, and that they had long 
been employed in the East, where the scarcity of water pre- 
cluded the apphcation of that powerful agent to machinery." 

"I had intended," said Mr. Seymour, "to have entered 
very fully upon the subject of the windmiU ; for although it 
is a very common machine, its construction is much more 
ingenious than is generally imagined ; it must also be allowed 
to have a degree of perfection, to which few of the popular 
engines have yet arrived ; but to do ample justice to my sub- 
ject, I should require several models which are not yet in 
readiness ; besides, Tom's hoHdays have nearly passed away : 
I must therefore postpone the examination of the mill to some 
future opportunity, and content myself, at present, with an 
explanation of its sails." 

" And let me teU you," observed the vicar, " that if you 
.racceed in this one object, you wiU accomplish a task which 
has occupied years of mechanical research. The angle which 
the surface of the saUs ought to make with their axis, in 
order that the wind may have the greatest effect, or the de- 
gi-ee of weathering^ as the millwrights caU it, is a matter of 
nice inquiry, and has much engaged the thoughts of the 
mathematicians." 

" My remarks upon that subject will be very general," said 
Mr. Seymour ; " I shall explain the principle, without enter- 
ing into the minutisB of its applications. The vertical wind- 
iniU, which is the kind in most common use, consists, as you 
weU know, of an axis, or shaft, placed in the direction of the 
wind, and usually inclining a little upward from the horizon- 
tal line. At one end of this, four long arms, or yards, are 
fixed perpendicular to the axis, and across each other at right 
angles ; these afford a surface, on which a cloth can be spread 



174 PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

to receive the action of the wind. To conceive why these 
sails should revolve by the force of the wind, we must have 
recourse to the theory of compound motion. It is very evi- 
dent that, if a mill exposed directly to the wind should have 
its four sails perpendicular to the common axis in which they 
are fitted, they would receive the wind perpendicularly, an 
impulse which could only tend to overturn them ; there is a 
necessity, therefore, to have them oblique to the common 
axis, that they may receive the wind obUquely, when their 
effort to recede from it causes them to turn round with 
the axis ; and the four sails, being all made obhque in the 
same direction, thus unite their efforts for the common 
object." 

" You have not yet told us what degree of obliquity the 
sail ought to make with the wind," said the vicar. 

" The same as the kite ought to make, fifty-four degrees 
Wi'^fortAjfour minutes." 

" Do you not remember, papa, when we were last in Lon- 
don, you pointed out to us a curious mUl on the banks of the 
river, which went without any sails ?" 

" You allude to the horizontal mill at Battersea." 

"I remember it was at Battersea," observed Louisa; "and 
I dare say, papa, that you recollect the strange story which 
the waterman, who rowed us down the river, told Tom and 
myself. He said that, ' when the Emperor of Russia was in 
London, he took a fancy to the neat little church at Batter- 
sea, and determined to carry it off to Russia ; and that for 
this purpose he had sent a large packing-case; but, as the 
inhabitants refused to let the church be carried away, the 
case remained on the spot where it was deposited.' " 

" It is not a bad story," said her father, " for the miU cer- 
tainly, both in size and figure, may be imagined to resemble 
a gigantic packing-case. The mill, of which you are speak- 
ing, has been taken down, in consequence of its use having 
been superseded by the introduction of steam. It was erect- 
ed by Captain Hooper, who also built a similar one at Mar- 
gate. It consisted of a circular wheel, having large boards or 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAENEST. 175 

vanes fixed parallel to its axis, and arranged at equal dis- 
tances from each other. Upon these vanes the wind could 
act, so as to blow the wheel round ; but had it acted upon 
the vane at both sides of the wheel at once, it is evident that 
it could not have had any tendency to turn it round ; hence, 
one side of the wheel was sheltered, while the other was sub- 
mitted to the full action of the wind. For this purpose it 
was inclosed within a large cylindrical ft-amework, furnished 
with doors or shutters, on all sides, to open at pleasure and 
admit the wind, or to shut and stop it. If ah the shutters 
on one side were open, while all those on the opposite side 
were closed, the wind, acting with undiminished force on the 
vanes at one side, while the opposite ^anes were under shel- 
ter, turned the mill round ; but whenever the wind changed, 
the disposition of the blinds was altered, to admit the wind 
to strike upon the vanes of the wheel in the direction of a 
tangent to the circle in which they moved." 

" Well ; have you any other machine to explain to your 
scholars?" asked the vicar; "fori am anxious to present 
them with a bow and arrow which I have provided for their 
amusement." 

" I wUl, if you please, first describe to them the mechanism 
of the smoke-jack ; and I am desirous of doing so, as I have 
a very pleasing experiment to exhibit, which is founded upon 
the same principle." 

Mr. Seymour then described the more 
common form of this machiae. It con- 
sisted, he said, of a number of vanes, 
of thin sheet-iron, arranged in a circle, 
as here represented, but aU set oblique- 
ly at a proper angle of inclination. Its 
action was explained in the following 
manner : When a fire is kindled in the 
chimney, the air, which, by its rarefac- 
tion, immediately tends to ascend, strikes on the surfaces of 
the inclined vanes, and by a resolution of forces, similar to 
that already explained, causes the spindle, to which they are 





176 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

affixed, to turn round, and consequently communicates the 
same motion to the spit. The brisker the fire becoTnes, the 
quicker will the machine move, because in that case the air 
ascends with greater rapidity. 

"T wOl now exhibit to you a mechanical amusement which 
is founded on the same principle. Fetch me the piece of 
pasteboard which Ues on the library table." 

The pasteboard was produced, and Mr. Seymour described 
upon it a spiral, similar to that which is represented in the 
annexed figure. The spiral was cut out, and 
extended, by raising the center above the first 
revolution. It was then suspended upon a 
small spit of iron, which had been previously 
prepared, by applying the center or summit of 
its spiral to its point. The whole was now 
placed on the top of a warm stove (the application of a lamp 
would have answered the same purpose), and the machine, 
to the great delight and astonishment of the cliildren, soon 
put itself in motion, and turned without the 
assistance of any apparent agent. The agent, 
however, in this case, was the air, which, be- 
ing rarefied by the contact of a warm body, 
ascended, and thus produced a current. The 
accompanying sketch may render this experi- 
ment more intelligible to the reader. 

The vicar observed, that, to him, " the ex- 
periment was perfectly novel; although he 
remembered having seen what he now sup- 
posed must have been a similar contrivance, but which, until 
that moment, he had always considered as the effect of clock- 
work." 

"And what might that have been?" asked Mr. Seymour. 

" The revolution of a serpent, which I noticed in several 
windows in London, during a late illumination." 

" Undoubtedly ; it was nothing more than a spiral, so 
painted as to resemble that reptile, and which owed its mo- 
tion to the action of air heated by a lamp placed beneath it." 




MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 177 

" Now, then," exclaimed the vicar, " let us direct our at- 
tention to the bow and arrow ; see the present I have pro- 
vided for you, Tom !" 

So saying, the worthy clergyman produced a bow and a 
number of arrows, together with a target ; which, at his de- 
sire, had been sent from London. 

" I think," observed Mr. Seymour, " that you should ac- 
company your gift with some account of archery, or the art 
and exercise of shooting with the bow and arrow." 

"That win I readily do," replied Mr. Twaddleton; who 
accordingly proceeded as follows : 

" The bow is the most ancient and universal of all weap- 
ons, and has been found to obtain among the most barbarous 
and remote nations. In the days of David the practice of 
the bow would appear to have been so general, that it was 
not unfrequently made use of as a figure of speech. Israel, 
when blessing his sons, says of Joseph, ' The archers have 
sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him ; but his 
"bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made 
strong, by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob.' " 

" Its earliest application was probably for the purpose of 
obtaining food," observed Mr. Seymour. 

" Your conjecture has the weight of testimony," rephed the 
vicar ; " when Isaac sent Esau to the forest, he said, ' Take, 
I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver, and thy bow, and go 
out to the field, and take me some venison :'* and it is even 
a question, whether the Saxon bow was ever used by the 
Anglo-Saxons and Danes for any other purpose than that of 
procuring food, or pastime ; for the representation of this bow, 
in an ancient manuscriptt of the tenth century, shows it to 
have been very diiferently constructed from what one might 
expect in a military weapon ; in size, too, it was a mere toy, 
compared with the bow of succeeding ages." 

" There can be no doubt that the bow and arrow was em- 
ployed for the purpose of killing animals for food from the 
earliest times ; but its principal interest is derived from its 
* Gen. xlix. 23, 24. t MS. Cott. Claud. B. IV. 



178 PHILOSOPHY m SPOET 

military applications : wiU you, therefore, give us a sketch of 
its history, and confine yourself to its practice as a warlike 
instrument in England ?" 

" And may I also beg of you, my dear sir," added Mrs. 
Seymour, " to explain the different terms which are em- 
ployed to denote its parts and applications ? Such informa- 
tion wiU be, just now, higlily acceptable to me, as I am 
reading some romances, in which those terms are constantly 
occurring." 

" You shall be obeyed, madam," replied the vicar, with a 
courteous smile. 

" We are, probably, indebted to the Norman conquest for 
the introduction of the bow and arrow as a hostile weapon ; 
but, before I enter upon that subject, it is necessary to state, 
that the bows in use in England have been of two kinds, the 
common or long bow, and the cross bow. The former does 
not require any description from me ; the latter, or Arialet, 
as it was called (from Arialesta, i. e., arcu-halista, a bow with 
a sHng), consists of a steel bow, fastened upon a stock, and is 
discharged by means of a catch, or trigger, which probably 
gave rise to the lock upon the modern musket." 

"Excuse the interruption," said Mrs. Seymour; "but do 
allow me to ask whether Arquebv^ade does not derive its 
name from its having been formerly applied to wounds in- 
flicted by the cross-bow or ArlaletV 

" I thank you, madam ; that etymology is entirely new to 
me, and will explain the medical name Aqua vulnerwria^ 
which has been applied to that spirit." 

The vicar now proceeded without further interruption. 

" The invention of cross-bows is said by ancient writers to 
have come from the Sicilians. They were first used in Eng- 
land by the Normans at the battle of Hastings ; and a quarrel 
or tar-bolt (which is synonymous with the arrow of the long- 
bow) was the immediate cause of Harold's death. In the 
reign of Stephen, in 1139, the second council of Lateran pro- 
hibited their use ; and some historians assert, that they were 
not again used in this country tiU the reign of Eichard I., 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 179 

■whose death, occasioned by one at Chahiz, was considered as 
a judgment on his impiety. From the death of Eichard till 
the splendid victories of Edward III., we hear little of the 
cross-bow as a military weapon. Its use appears to have 
been principally confined to the sieges of fortified places, and 
to sea-fights. In 1346, at the battle of Cressy, a large body 
of Genoese soldiers, who were particularly expert in its man- 
agement, were in the service of the French ; but at the com- 
mencement of the action, a sudden shower wetted the strings 
and prevented the archers from doing their usual execution, 
while the English were still capable of annoying their enemies 
by the long bow with complete success ; both this victory 
and that of Poictiers, ten years afterward, were chiefly as- 
cribed by the English to their archers. In 1403, at the battle 
of Shrewsbury, where Hotspur was slain, the archers on both 
sides did terrible execution ; and the victory of Agincourt, in 
1415, was entirely owing to their skill. Under Edward IV. 
an ordinance was made, that every Englishman and Irish- 
man, dwelling in England, should have a bow of his own 
height, to be made of yew, wych, hazel, ash, or any other 
seasonable tree, according to their power. By Henry YII. 
and his son Henry VIII. the use of the cross-bow was en- 
tirely forbidden ; and a penalty of ten pounds was to be 
inflicted on every man in whose house one might be found. 
From this time they seem to have been chiefly used for killing 
deer.* Henry VIII. compelled every father to provide a 
long-bow and two arrovrs for his son at seven years old. 
Edward VI., Elizabeth, and James, all encouraged archery ; 
John Lyon, who founded Harrow school in 1590, two years 
before his death, drew up rules for its direction, whereby the 
amusements of the scholars were confined to ' driving a top, 
tossing a hand-baU, running, and shooting.' The last-men- 
tioned diversion is in a manner insisted on by the founder, 
who requires all parents to furnish their children with bow- 
Btring, shafts, and tresters, to exercise shooting. A silver 

* See Shakspeare's Henry VL 



180 PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

arrow used some years ago to be shot for by the young gen- 
tlemen of that school." 

The vicar concluded, and received the thanks of the party 
for the interesting information he had afforded them. 

" There is one crrcamstance connected with the military 
history of the long-bow," said Mrs. Seymour, " which has 
somewhat surprised me ; and that is, why it should so long 
have continued in estimation after the use of gunpowder." 

" That circumstance," replied her husband, "will cease to 
astonish you, when you remember that, until the last cen- 
tury, muskets were very unwieldy instruments ; they were 
never used without a rest, had no bayonets, and could not be 
so frequently discharged as they are at present." 

" Come," said the vicar, " I perceive that the children are 
impatient to try their skill with their new instrument ; let us 
walk out, and I wiU play the Scythian upon this occasion." 

" Now, Tom," cried Mr. Twaddleton, " we must have an 
object. Let me see. Shall it be the ' lut^'' '•pricke^'' or ' roa- 
verf Come, try whether you can hit yonder gate-post. 
Take your bow, and here is an arrow." 

Tom took the bow, and, placing the arrow on the string, 
was about to draw the latter, when the vicar exclaimed, 
" Stop — stop ; you must puU back your hand to your rigiit 
ear, in order to shoot the arrow i whereas you have placed 
the bow directly before you, and are about to return your 
hand to the right breast." 

"I thought," said Tom, "that was the proper position; for 
I remember reading of the Amazonian women, who are said 
to have parted with their right breasts, lest they should prove 
an impediment to their using the bow." 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAENEST. 181 



CHAPTER X. 

ORIGIN OF THE CRESCENT AS THE TURKISH ENSIGN. APPARITIONS DIS 

PELLED, AND MYSTERIES SOLVED BY PHILOSOPHY. FAIRY-RINGS. 

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS CLASSED UNDER THREE DIVISIONS. MIXED 

INSTRUMENTS. THEORY OF WIND INSTRUMENTS. THE JEW's-HARP. 

THE STATUE OF MEMNON. AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT. — THE 

FLUTE. THE WHIZ-GIG, ETC. ECHOES. THE MYTH OF NARCISSUS. 



On entering the library on the following morning, Mr. 
Seymour informed Miss Villers that Major Snapwell had 
taken his departure in order to breakfast vpith the vicar, and 
that he had invited Tom and Louisa to accompany him, for 
the sake of inspecting the cabinet of medals ; but he added 
that he expected the return of the party at two o'clock, when 
he proposed to give them a lecture upon the philosophy of 
the several toys which are indebted for their action to at- 
mospheric vibrations. 

" Suppose, then," said Miss ViUers, " that we walk toward 
Forest Lane, and meet them on their return. This arrange- 
ment," she added, " will afford me an opportunity of commu- 
nicating to you the history of some adventures I encountered 
last evening, and of taking your opinion upon them." 

" You well know," answered Mr. Seymour, " that you 
may always command my services. But you have really 
raised my curiosity : what can be the nature of the adven- 
tures you speak of?" 

Miss Villers then entered into a particular account of all 
she saw and heard the preceding evening ; with which the 
reader is already acquainted. Mi\ Seymour, however, sug- 
gested the propriety of abstaining from any discussion upon 
the subject until the children were present to hear it ; for, 



182 PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

said he, " I am most desirous that they sliould be familiar- 
ized with those natural sources of illusion which enlighten 
the wise, while they minister to the superstitious fears of the 
ignorant." 

They had not reached the' entrance of Forest Lane, before 
they perceived the vicar with Tom and Louisa, followed by 
the major. 

" Papa," cried Tom, as he ran to meet his father, " we 
have had a most delightful morning ; among other things, 
do you know we have found out the meaning of the crescent, 
which the Turks always wear and use as their ensign ?" 

"Indeed! well, then, let me hear your explanation," said 
his father. 

Major Snapwell and the vicar had by this time joined the 
party, and with their assistance Tom was enabled to offer the 
following account of it. The crescent appears on the early 
coins of Byzantium, and was intended to commemorate the 
defeat of PhUip of Macedon, who, as he was about to storm 
it on a cloudy night, was discovered by the sudden light of 
the moon. When the Turks entered Constantinople, they 
found this ancient badge in various parts of the city, and, 
suspecting that it might possess some magical power, they 
assumed the symbol and its power to themselves ; so that 
the crescent became, and stiU continues to be, the chief Turk- 
ish ensign. 

"Well, I must own that you have given me a new and 
very curious piece of historical information, and I thank you 
for it," said Mr. Seymour. 

" Medals, then, are occasionally of some little use," remark- 
ed the vicar, with a sarcastic smile ; for, if the truth must 
be told, the reverend antiquary had been a little nettled as 
usual by the freedom with which Major Snapwell had criti- 
cised some of his rarities : but let that pass. 

As soon as the party reassembled after the excursion of 
the morning, the circumstances which so greatly astonished 
Miss YUlers on the preceding evening were again related by 
her. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 183 

" My dear young lady," observed "^Mr. Seymour, " I never 
heard a better story for illustrating the illusions to which 
the senses are exposed ; and if you will read the second let- 
ter on ' Natural Magic,' by Sir David Brewster, you will ob- 
tain a ready explanation of your vision : btit let us examine 
it philosophically. In the first place, you acknowledge that 
your imagination had been previously excited during your 
ramble through the wood, and more especially by your rev- 
erie at the statue of Time ; no'v^ it is well known that such a 
condition of the mind prepares and adapts the organs of 
vision for those illusions which I am about to explain. You 
have told us that, on your descent into the valley, the moon 
had withdrawn its light, and several minutes had elapsed 
before an object became visible, and that was the white foam 
of the waterfall." 

" If I rightly remember, Brewster has stated that the spec- 
ters that are conjured up by the imagination are always 
white^ because no color can be seen at night," observed Mrs. 
Seymour. 

" Undoubtedly," replied her husband ; " and as these spec- 
ters are formed 'out of objects whose different parts reflect 
different degrees of light, their fainter parts wUl appear and 
disappear with the ever-varying degree of illumination which 
is occasioned by the moon shining through a veil of clouds, 
and a change even of shape will be thus produced which wiU 
impart to the object in question the semblance of a living 
form. The actual state of the eye itself wiU also greatly as- 
Eist in completing such an illusion ; for, in consequence of the 
small degi-ee of light, the pupil expands to nearly the whole 
width of the iris, in order to collect every ray, and in such 
a condition it cannot accommodate itself to see near objects 
distinctly ; so that the form of a body actually becomes more 
shadowy and confused when it comes within the very dis- 
tance at which we count upon obtaining the best view of it." 

" You have certainly explained the reason why bodies seen 
under a faint illumination may appear distorted and carica- 
tured ; indeed, I now remember that Sir Walter Scott, in his 



184 PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

' Pirate,' has given us a very good illustration : for Cleveland, 
when abandoned on Ooifin-bay, is said to have seen many a 
dim and undefined specter in the misty dawn. But I am still 
at a loss to understand how the vision I witnessed in the val- 
ley could have been conjured up," said Miss ViUers. 

" It was the doubtful and flickering light of the clouded 
moon upon the mass of white sandstone, or, in the words of 
Milton, that of ' a sable cloud that turned forth her silver lin- 
aig on the night,' " said Mr. Seymour. " It is a great law of 
the imagination, that a likeness in fart tends to Tiecome a 
likeness of tlie whole. The sandstone presented, in the first 
instance, a form somewhat resembling the human figure, or 
some part of it, when your active imagination immediately 
completed the outline ; just in the same way as we trace im- 
ages in the fire, or castles in the clouds, or grotesque figures 
of men and animals on damp walls." (14.) 

" I am satisfied," said Miss VDlers, " and I thank you, and 
Sir David Brewster, for the lecture ; and now," continued the 
lady, " how wiU you explain the circumstance of my name hav- 
ing been so audibly pronounced, and from a spot which made 
it impossible that it should have come from any human being ?" 

" It was the solitary spirit of the deU," said Mr. Seymour, 
with a smile ; " a rural spirit who is disposed to become very 
loquacious whenever the repose of her habitation is disturbed. 
I can assure you," added he, " that you are not the first per- 
son whom her gambols have surprised and terrified in the 
shades of evening. I presume you have discovered that I 
allude to that unseen musician of the air — ^Eoho." 

" Indeed, Mr. Seymour, the sound could not have been 
the effect of an echo, for I never spoke," replied Miss Yil- 
lers. 

" Yery likely, but I happen to know that Mrs. Seymour 
called you by name at the orchard gate." 

" Nor will that explain it," observed Miss ViUers ; "for in 
that case I must certainly have heard her ; whereas the sound 
came in a very different dii-ection, from the inaccessible rocks 
of sandstone." 



MADE SCIENCE EST EARNEST. 185 

"Young lady," said Mr. Seymour, "you must forgive me 
for telling you that your pliilosopliy is at fault. It is as pos- 
sible to hear an echo without recognizing the direct sound 
which produced it, as it is for two persons to be so placed as 
to see each other in a looking-glass, although objects might 
obstruct the direct view of themselves.* Did you never walk 
between an irregular wall and a row of houses, or along a 
valley intercepted by houses, during the ringing of a peal of 
beUs? Nothing is more common, under such circumstances, 
than for the sound, instead of arriving at the ear in its true 
direction, to be reflected in one that is opposite to it. Now 
before we quit the subject of optical illusion, let me relate an 
incident which occurred to myself. I presume you are aU 
acquainted with the appearance in the grass, called a Fairy- 
ring .?" 

" To be sure," said Tom, " a very dark circle of grass, 
around which there is generally a ring that looks as if the 
ground had been burnt." 

" Very well, — and we are now satisfied that this appeaiance 
is the consequence of the growth and decay of certain fungi, 
although the common people still believe that the ring is 
produced by the gambols of fairies. Now then for my 
story. It was on a moonlight night last August, when stroll- 
ing along a neighboring meadow, enjoying the beauties of the 
evening, that I met a young farmer, an intelligent person, 
although a little inclined to a belief in the marvelous, who, 
on approaching with a hasty step, thus accosted me : — ' You 
have often ridiculed my belief in fairies, and of their being the 
cause of those rings which go by their name ; you may now, 
if you please, satisfy yourself of their reality, if you will only 
return with me to the elm-close, which, as you know, abounds 
with fairy-rings. Within the last few minutes I have actually 
see them at their gambols under the great elm ; they are, sir, 
tiny beings, which, as far as I could judge at a distance, can- 
not be more than a few inches in height ; but there they are, 
frisking away most merrily to tinkling music. Pray, sir, do 
• See page 317. 



186 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

let us return, and satisfy yourself as well as me.' — ^You may 
readily suppose that I lost no time in complying with my 
friend's request ; and sure enough there they were." 

" What, the fairies !" exclaimed Louisa, in astonishment. 

" Have patience, my dear, and you shall hear. I confess," 
continued Mr. Seymour, " that, at the first glance, I was al- 
most startled into a belief in the reality of my friend's asser- 
tion; but, on approaching, the Fairy Queen and her court 
were changed into a circle of fungi, to which the shadowy 
play of the leaves of the neighboring tree had, in the light of 
the moon, given the appearance of a fantastic motion, while 
their waving and rusthng sounds mimicked wild music. The 
illusion, I will admit, was weU calculated to impose upon the 
credulous countryman." 

" So, then ! " exclaimed the vicar, whimsically •quoting the 
words of Falstaff, " ' these were not fairies. I was three or 
four times in the thought they were not fairies.' "* 

The young party were much amused by this anecdote, and 
the vicar took the opportunity to explain, on natural princi- 
ples, several superstitious appearances recorded in ancient 
legends. 

Mr. Seymour now proposed to dedicate an hour to the ex- 
planation of the several toys which owe their action to 
atmospheric vibration ; "I shall then," said he, addressing 
Miss ViUers, " be at your service to interrogate the spirit of 
the valley ; and the children, whom I intend to accompany 
us, will be thus better prepared to comprehend the theory of 
the echo." 

" Musical instruments, among which I include the toys to 
which I have alluded, may be classed under three heads : — 
stringed instruments, such as the harp, violin, &c. ; wind 
instruments, as the flute and trumpet; and instruments of 
percussion, as the tabor and drum." 

"And which kind do you consider the most ancient?" 
asked Miss ViUers. 

" Wind instruments, madam, most unquestionably," cri «d 
♦ Merry Wives ofWindsor. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 187 

Mr. Twaddleton. " Diodorus ascribed their invention to the 
accidental notice of the whistling of the wind in the reeds on 
the banks of the Nile ; and the poet Lucretius maintained a 
similar opinion." 

" I really, my dear sir, cannot see any good reason for giv- 
ing this preference, in point of antiquity, to wind instruments," 
said Mr. Seymour. " The lyre, or harp, is, surely, as ancient 
as any instrument on record. The mythologist ascribes 
the idea of producing sound by the vibration of a string to 
Apollo ; whicli is said by Oensorinus to have suggested itself 
to him, on his hearing the twang of the bow of his sister 
Diana. With respect to instruments of percussion, it may be 
reasonably supposed that the sonorous ringing of hollow 
bodies, when struck, must have very soon suggested their 
invention to mankind ; but I really consider any research into 
a question of such obsciirity as uninteresting as it must be 
hopeless ; let us rather devote our attention to the philosoph j 
of these instruments. I have stated that they may be re- 
ferred to three principal classes ; but I must at the same time 
observe that, in some cases, the vibrations of solid bodies are 
made to co-operate with those of a given portion of air ; for 
example, trumpets and various horns may be said to be 
mixed wind instruments, since their sound is produced by the 
joint vibrations of the air and a solid body ; and in certain 
stringed instruments, as in tlie violin, the immediate effect of 
the strings is increased by means of a sounding-board, which 
appears to be agitated by their motion, and to act more pow- 
erfully on the air than the strings could have done alone." 

" I apprehend that this mixture must obtain more or less 
in all instruments," said the vicar. 

" Not at all. The flute, flageolet, humming-top, and the 
cavity of the mouth in whistling, may be considered as sim- 
ple wind instruments, in which the quality of the sound is 
alone determined by the vibrations of the air. I have already 
explained the manner in which the oscillations of a string 
excite aerial undulations, and thus produce sound ; and you 
have seen that the nature of these sounds is determined by 



188 PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

the length and thickness of such strings : the theory equally 
applies to wind instruments, in which case a column of air 
corresponds with the string, the volume and length of which 
determine the sound. In the harp, the strings are constructed 
of different lengths and dimensions ; and so, in the Syrinx^ or 
Pan^s pipes, is the volume of air adjusted to the respective 
notes by the size and length of the reeds ; but, in the violin, 
the lengths of the strings are altered at pleasure by pressing 
them down on the finger-board ; and, in like manner, the 
effective length of the flute is changed by the opening or shut- 
ting the holes made at proper distances in them ; the opening 
of a hole at any part being tlie same in effect as if the pipe 
were cut off a little beyond it." 

Mr. Seymour and the vicar then entered into a long dis- 
cussion, witji which it is not our intention to swell our his- 
tory, or to exliaust the patience of the reader ; we shall, how- 
ever, with his permission, collect from the mass some of the 
more interesting facts, and present them in as condensed a 
form as may be consistent with perspicuity. In speaking of 
the Jew's-harp, a little instrument with which every school- 
boy is well acquainted, the vicar stated that its origin was 
lost in the long lapse of time ; but that it was in very com- 
mon use throughout Europe, and more especially in the Neth- 
erlands and the Tyrol, where it was the delight of the peas- 
ants and their families. He also said that it was known in 
Asia, and that the Greeks of Smyrna called it, in imitation of 
its sound, hiambo. The name by which it is now known, he 
observed, was evidently derived from the Jews, who were 
formerly the great venders of it, and of other toys through- 
out Europe, although he stated that his friend Mr. Prybabel 
was of opinion that it was a corruption of jaw's harp. Mr. 
Seymour described its construction, and tlie theory of its 
action. It is composed of two parts, the lody and the tongue : 
the former has some resemblance to the handle of a certain 
kind of corkscrew ; the latter consists of a httle stiip of steel, 
joined to the upper part of the body, and bent at its extremity, 
so that the fingers may touch it more readily. This tongue, 




MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 189 

or elastic plate, produces in itself, only a sound which serves 
as a drone, although it ap- 
pears, to act like the motion 
of the bow of a violin in 
exciting other sounds, by 
breaking the current of air 
from the mouth, the acute- 
ness or gravity of wliich 
will be determined by the 
pressure of the Ups, and the ' 

magnitude of the cavity of the mouth. To understand, how- 
ever, this part of its operation, it is necessary that tlie reader 
should become acquainted with the nature and effects of wliat 
have been termed Hesonances, and Reciprocated Vibrations 
of Columns of Air. Tliis property of sounding bodies, 
which to the ignorant must appear as an inexplicable species 
of sympathy, wiU be more fuUy explained in a note (15) ; at 
present we shall merely give one or two examples of its 
effects. A singer has been known to break into pieces a large 
tumbler-glass by the power of his voice ; and a violin sus- 
pended against a wall may be lieard to yield the same notes 
as those produced by a performer on a similar instrument in 
the same room. To produce such an effect, however, one 
condition is indispensable, that the body to be put in vibra- 
tion must be in unison, or agreeing in pitch, with the one com- 
municating the sound. Hence the necessity of so adapting 
the capacity of the mouth, in playing the Jew's-harp, as to 
make the column of air which it contains to reciprocate the 
sound of its tongue. The subject was agreeably concluded 
by some anecdotes whicli were related by Miss VUlers, in 
proof of the astonishing powers of this little instrument when 
directed by the skill of a master. For the sake of those who 
may be curious upon this subject, we have introduced an ac- 
count of two great performers, in an additional note (16). In 
speaking of the flute, Mr. Twaddleton took occasion to ob- 
serve that its name was derived from fluta* a lamprey, or 
* « MuraenaB optimse flutae sunt in Slcilia." — Varr. R. B. il. 6. 2.' 



:I90 PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

small Sicilian eel, which has seven holes on each side ; an ety- 
mology which wUl probably be as new to our readers as it 
was to ourselves. The children also received their share of 
instruction and amusement upon this occasion. Tom, for'the 
first tune, became acquainted with the use of the pea in the 
whistle, which, he was told, was to agitate and break the 
current of air, and thus to produce a succession of quick vi- 
brations, upon which the acuteness of its sound depended. 
Louisa exhibited her whiz-gig, which, for the information of 
the unlearned reader, we may state to consist of a hollow 
disk of wood, having an opening in its side, like that in the 
humming-top : by the alternate coiling and uncoiling of the 
cord upon which it is strung it receives a circular motion, the 
rapidity of which produces, by means of its opening, an 
aerial vibration that gives a loud ringing sound. 

" I should very much like to hear your opinion of that 
Egyptian wonder, the statue of Memnon," said the vicar. 

" Its history," answered Mr. Seymour, " is involved in con- 
siderable doubt and difficulty. Authors of credit agree in 
stating that it certainly saluted the rising sun with a musical 
sound ; but doubts are still entertained as to the cause which 
produced it, whether it .was the effect of mechanism, or a jug- 
gle of the Egyptian priests. An English traveler, Sir A. 
Smith, informs us that he visited the statue, and actually 
heard the sounds at six o'clock in the morning ; but he be- 
lieves that they proceeded, not from the figure, but from the 
pedestal, and he considers that they may arise from the im- 
pulse of the air upon the stones of which it is constructed. 
Others have supposed that the heat of the sun's rays, concen- 
trated by a mirror, may have acted upon plates of metal so 
as to produccthe effect. It is not my intention to argue this 
point ; but I wiU show you an experiment, by which you wiU, 
I think, be convinced that a statue might easily be construct 
ed like the Memnon to yield musical sounds by the applica 
tion of heat, whether derived from the solar rays, or from 
any other source." 

Mr. Seymour produced a piece of apparatus, of which we 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 191 

here present tlie reader with a sketch. It consists of an ob- 
long block of copper, one surface of which is flat, the other 
formed by two planes meeting at an obtuse angle, and having 
a groove at the point of junction a. To this block a handle 
is affixed. 



A^- 



( i & 

Mr. Seymour, having thus described the form of the instru- 
ment, and stated that its construction was solely directed 
with a view of making it oscillate freely on any plane surface, 
thrust the block in the fire, and, when sufficiently heated, 
placed it on its angular surface, upon a flat piece of lead. It 
immediately began to vibrate, producing, at first, a kind of 
singing noise, not unlike that of the simmering of a tea-ket- 
tle, but the vibrations became more and more rapid until a 
distinct musical sound was produced, which from time to 
time varied in its pitch, and gave rise to an efiect scarcely in- 
ferior to that of the Eolian harp. 

"How extremely beautiful!" said Miss ViUers. 

" And how admirably does it illustrate the theory of music- 
al sounds!" observed Mr. Seymour. "We have here, you 
perceive, a series of impulses communicated to our ears by 
the air, at first in slow succession, and by degrees more and 
more rapidly ; at first we hear a rattling noise, then a low 
murmur, and then a hum, which by degrees acquires the 
character of a musical note, rising higher and higher in acute- 
ness. It is evident, therefore, from tliis experiment alone, by 
showing the correspondence which exists between the pitch 
of the note and the rapidity of the succession of the vibra- 
tions, that our sensation of the different pitches of musical 
notes originates in the different rapidities with which then* 
impulses are communicated to our ears." 

"Pray explain to us the manner in which the block of 
metal is thus made to vibrate," said Miss Villers. 

" It depends," replied Mr. Seymour, " upon the alternate 
contraction of the two opposite edges of the metal from the 



193 PHILOSOPHT IN SPOET 

loss of heat ; one of the edges coming in contact with tho 
cold lead contracts, and, by destroying the balance of the 
block, causes its opposite edge to come into contact with the 
lead, and to undergo the same change ; and it is by this alter- 
nate action that a rapid vibration is produced, occasioning, 
as you will now readily understand, the musical sounds you 
have just heard." 

Miss Villers here made some interesting remarks upon the 
sounds produced by flowing water. " In the fountain," she 
said, " musical tones are produced by vibrations occasioned 
by the drops on the jet, and reciprocated by the surface on 
Tvhick they fall." • 

The lecture having been concluded, Mrs. Seymour proposed 
that the party should at once proceed to the valley, but the 
vicar suggested the propriety of first explaining to the chil- 
dren the principle upon which the echo depended. 

Mr. Seymour concui-red in this opinion, and immediately 
afforded the following explanation : — " An echo is nothing 
more than a reflected sound. When the aerial vibrations 
strike against any obstacle of sufficient magnitude, they are re- 
flected back to the ear, and produce a repetition of the sound, 
which will appear to proceed from the point whence they are 
reflected, so that the apparent direction of the voice becomes 
completely changed by an echo. A considerable extent of 
level wall wiU sometimes produce it in great perfection ; for 
a smooth surface reflects sounds much better than a rough 
one : but the circumstance which, perhaps, contributes more 
than any other to the perfection of an echo, is the form of 
the reflecting surface ; a convex surface is a very bad reflector 
of sound, a flat one reflects very well, but a small degree of 
concavity is the form best adapted to the purpose." 

" I believe," observed the vicar, " that fluid bodies will 
also, under certain cii'cumstances, so reflect sound as to pro- 
duce echoes." 

" Undoubtedly. The surface of water, especially at the bot- 
tom of a well, and sometimes even clouds, will produce this 
effect, as, during a tempest, the continued rolling of the 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 193 

thunder is nothing but the reverberation of a single discharge 
bandied about from cloud to cloud." 

" Do you mean to say, papa," asked Tom, " that sound is " 
reflected from an obstacle to the ear, in the same manner as 
my ball is reflected after striking the wall ?" 

" Certainly ; supposing, of course, that your baU is per- 
fectly elastic ; and in that case, you no doubt remember the 
direction it will follow." 

" It will always make the angle of reflection equal to the 
angle of incidence^''''* said Tom. 

" Undoubtedly ; and so it is with sound, since air, as you 
know, is perfectly elastic. If, therefore, the vibrations fall 
perpendicularly on the obstacle, they are reflected back in the 
same line ; if obliquely, the sound returns obliquely in the 
opposite direction, the angle of reflection being equal to that 
of incidence. You wfll, therefore, readUy perceive," con- 
tinued Mr. Seymour, addressing his conversation more par- 
ticularly to Miss Yillers, " that a person situated at an appro- 
priate angle may hear an echo, as it is returned from the re- 
flecting surface, without hearing the original sound which 
produced it. M. Genefay has described, as existing near 
Rouen, a curious oblique echo which is not heard by the per- 
son who emits the sound. A person who sings hears only his 
own voice, while those who listen hear only the echo." 

" As a smooth and concave surface is capable of producing 
an echo, how does it happen that we so rarely meet with one 
in a room ?" asked Louisa. 

" Echoes, my dear, are, in fact, produced in every room, 
by the reverberation of sound from its walls ; but on account 
of the velocity with which it travels, they are imperceptible 
in small chambers, because the sound occupies no sensible pe- 
riod of time in moving from the mouth to the walls, and in re- 
turning back to the ear again; consequently the original 
sound and its echo become so blended and incorporated, as to 
appear but one sound. As the dimensions of the apartment 

* The reader is requested to turn to page 184 ; for all that is there said re- 
specting the principle of reflected motion will apply to the theory of the echo. 



194 PHILOSOPHY m SPOET 

increase, the defect will increase with it; and, in buildings 
for music or public speaking, it is often highly inconvenient, 
and difficult of prevention.* Breaking the surface, or ren- 
dering it uneven by mouldings and ornaments, appears to be 
the most effectual method of curing tlie evil." 

" I perceive then, papa, that in order to produce a perfect 
echo, the person who speaks must be at a considerable dis- 
tance fi-om the obstacle that reflects the sound," said Louisa. 

" It cahnot.be otherwise," replied her father ; " and if you 
will only consider the rate at which sound travels, you will 
readily understand the necessity of such an arrangement. In 
order to produce a distinct echo of one syllable, or of a sin- 
gle sound, the reflecting obstacle must be at least 70 ffeet from 
the sound, so that it may have to pass through a distance of 
70 feet to get to the reflector, and 70 more to return to the 
ear, making a total passage of 140 feet, 'which it will accom- 
plish in rather less than one-eighth of a second ; a period of 
time so small, that, if it were diminished, it is evident the 
echo must be assimilated with the sound itself." 

"But the echo in the valley," observed Mrs. Seymour, 
" will repeat four or five syllables." 

" Undoubtedly ; if we make the experiment at a suflScient 
distance from the sandstone rocks which act as the reflector." 

" It would appear, then, that the further the reflecting 
object is off, the greater number of syllables will the echo 
repeat ; and I should think that this fact might enable us to 
compute the distance of the reflector," said Mrs. Seymour. 

" In a moderate way of speaking, about three and a half 
syllables are pronounced in one second, or seven syllables in 
two seconds; when an echo, therefore, repeats seven sylla- 
bles, we may infer that the reflecting object is 1142 feet dis- 
tant." 

" But, my dear Mr. Seymour, this must surely depend 
upon the nature of the syllables," said the vicar. "Pray 
excuse the interruption ; but you will admit that there must 

* This is very remarkable in the new mineralogical lecture-room in the 
public library at Cambridge. 



MADE SCIENCE TN EAENEST. 195 

exist a gi-eat difference between the echo of dactyles and 
spondees. Suppose an echo should be able to return ten 
syllables; thus — '■Tityre^ tu patulm recuhaTis' — I will be bound 
for it, that if you were to try its powers in slow heavy spon- 
dees, as monstrum horrendum^ a return of not more than four 
or five syllables could be observed." 

" I will not dispute that point," said Mr. Seymour ; " or 
take, if you will, the famous passage in the Tenth Odyssey, 
where Sisyphus roUs the stone up the mountain in spondees, 
and allows it to run down in a torrent of dactyles." 

Louisa here remarked that she had often heard of some 
very extraordinary echoes in different parts of the world, to 
which her father had not alluded; she mentioned, for in- 
stance, those which are said to repeat the same sound several 
times in succession. 

" From the explanation which I have already given of the 
nature of echoes," said Mr. Seymour, " it will be easily con- 
ceived that a vast variety of effects may be produced by va- 
rying the form, the shape, the distance, and the number of 
reflecting surfaces ; and hence we hear of various surprising 
echoes in different places. It is not difficult, for instance, to 
understand the nature of compound, or tautological echoes ; 
in which case the expression of one ha will appear like a laugh- 
ter. Addison mentions an extraordinary instance of this 
kind near Milan, which will return the sound of a pistol fifty- 
six times." 

'• I have understood that the echoes on the lakes of KiUar- 
ney are of this multiplied description," said the vicar. 

" They are particularly calculated to produce reflections of 
sound, from the height of the mountains, and the expanse ot 
water," replied Mr. Seymour ; " which latter circumstance 
always assists the conveyance of reflected as well as direct 
sound. I believe there is a certain spot on the shore of Eoss 
island, where the sound of a bugle produces an echo which 
far exceeds any other to be met with among the lakes ; the 
first echo is returned from the castle, the second from the 
ruined church of Aghadoe, the third from Mangerton, and af- 



196 PHILOSOPHY m SPOET 

terward innumerable reverberations are distinguished, which, 
like the faded brilliancy of an extremely multiplied reflection, 
are lost by distance and repetition." 

"There is an admirable echo," said the vicar, "behind my 
old college at Cambridge ; and often have I, while walking 
on the road to Chesterton, on a calm evening, distinctly 
heard twelve repetitions of the voice. Lord Bacon, if I re- 
member correctly, mentions an tustance of sixteen, in some 
ruined church near Paris." 

"It was in the church of Pont-Oharenton, on the Seine," 
rephed Mr. Seymour ; "in which place that great philoso- 
pher discovered the inabOity of an echo to return the letter 
S ; for haviag pronounced the word satan, the echo replied 
va-t-en — away ; from which circumstance, the Parisians con- 
cluded that some guardian spirit prevented the walls of the 
$acred edifice from pronouncing the name of Satan.'''' 

"And wiU not an echo repeat the letter S?" asked Louisa. 

" Not always," answered her father ; -*' the hissing or sibi- 
lant noise of the letter, when at the commencement of a 
word, is generally lost, unless the echo be extremely perfect." 

Mr. Seymour was here reminded of an echo on the Rhine, 
near the ruins of Eheinfels, to which is usually addressed the 
question — " Who is the Mayor of Oberwesel V the echo an- 
swers Usel, — an Ass. 

" To be sure," said the vicar, "the latter syllables returned 
by the echo are those which retain possession of the ear. 
My young friends, no doubt, remember the facetious dialogue 
between Juvenis and Echo in the colloquy of Erasmus, in 
which a very humorous application is made of this circum- 
etance." 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 197 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE WHISPERING GALLERY IN THE DOME OF ST. PAUl's. THE SPEAK- 
ING TRUMPET. THE INVISIBLE GIRL, AND THE AMUSEMENT SHR 

OCCASIONED.— CHARADES. OTHER ACOUSTIC AMUSEMENTS. MYS- 
TERIOUS SOUNDS. CREAKING SHOES. 



Ok their return to the Lodge, Mr. Seymour proceeded with 
the explanation of the Whispering Gallery in St. Paul's Cathe- 
dral ; and, in order to render intelligible the manner in which 
sound is concentrated, and thereby magnified, in that hoUow 
hemisphere, he produced a diagram, of which the annexed 
cut is a copy. 




He explained it as follows : 

" M shows the situation of the mouth of the speaker, and 
E that of the ear of the hearer. Now, since sound radiates 
in aU directions, a part of it will proceed directly from m to 
E, while other rays of it will proceed from m to -w, and from 
M to s, &c. ; but the ray that impinges upon u will be reflected 
to E, while that which first touches z will be reflected to y, 
and from thence to e ; and so of aU intermediate rays, which 
are omitted in the figure, to avoid confusion. It is evident, 



198 PHiLosopnT m sport 

therefore, that the sound at e will be much stronger than if it 
had proceeded immediately from m without the assistance of 
the dome ; for, in that case, the rays at z and u would have 
proceeded in straight lines, and consequently could never 
have arrivecf at the point e." 

" I have understood that a similar effect was formerly wit- 
nessed in the stone recesses on Westminster Bridge," said the 
vicar. 

" That is the fact," replied Mr. Seymour. " The recesses 
to which you allude were semi-domes ; and if a person whis- 
pered in the focus of one of them, he was distinctly heard by 
another stationed in the focus of the opposite one. Two inan- 
imate busts may be thus made to appear as if holding a con- 
versation, by placing them in the foci of two large concave 
mirrors constructed of pasteboard, and arranged opposite to 
each other ; when a whisper uttered to the one will seem to 
proceed from the other by the reflection of sound." 

Mr. Seymour now removed a shell from a group of coral- 
lines, which decorated a part of the temple, and desired Tom 
to place it to his ear. 

" I hear a noise which appears to me to resemble that of 
the sea," cried Tom. 

" Ay," said the vicar, " and there is a popular belief that it 
is the murmur of the sea, which the shell actually sends forth, 
betraying, as it were, its marine origin." 

" And what produces the sound ?" inquired Louisa. 

" The interior of the shell merely concentrates, and thus 
magnifies the sounds around us, so as to render them audi- 
ble : a goblet applied to the ear will be found to produce the 
same effect," replied her father. 

" I suppose it is upon the same principle that the speaking- 
trumpet is made to convey sound to a distance," remarked 
Louisa.- 

" Since sound radiates in all directions, it follows that, it 
such radiation be prevented by confining it in tubes, it may 
be carried to a great distance with very little diminution of 
its effect ; and hence the use and application, of tuose trum- 



MADE SCIENCE IN" EARNEST. 



19ft 



pets, or tin speaking-pipes, which are noAV commonly used 
for conveying intelligence from one part of a house to another. 
The trumpet used by deaf persons acts on the same principle; 
but as the voice enters the trumpet at the.Jarge instead of the 
small end of the instrument, it is not so much confined, nor is 
the sound so much increased." 

"I believe," said Mrs. Seymour, " that the experiment ex- 
hibited some time since in London under the title of the 
Invisible Girl^ and which excited such general curiosity, 
was discovered to depend upon an arrangement of this 
kind." 

The vicar observed, that it was found out by liis late friend 
Dr. MUner, the learned and scientific President of Queen's 
College, Cambridge. 

" I expected that you would allude to that exhibition," said 
Mr. Seymour ; " and as I was anxious to provide my young 
pupils with some new amiisement, as a reward for their indus- 
try, I have directed Tom Plank to construct the necessary 
apparatus for exhibiting and explaining the deception." 

Upon inquiry, Mr. Seymour found, as he had anticipated, 
that the necessary apparatus for the experiment of the " In- 
visible Girl" had been duly arranged, and that Tom Plank 
was in attendance to afford any assistance which might be 
further required. We shall proceed to describe all the visible 
mechanism, as it appeared to the children on entering Mr. 
Seymour's study, and of which we here present the reader 
with a perspective sketch. 




200 



rniLOSOPHT IN SPORT 



It consisted of a wooden frame, not very unlike a bedstead, 
having four upright posts, a aa a^ and a cross-rail at top and 
bottom to strengthen them. The frame thus constructed 
stood upon a low table, and from the top of each of the four 
pillars sprang four bent brass wires, which converged to the 
point c. From these wires a hollow copper ball was sus- 
pended by ribbons, so as to cut off all possible communica- 
tion with the frame. The globe was supposed to contain the 
invisible beiug, as the voice apparently proceeded from the 
interior of it ; and for this purpose it was equipped with the 
mouths of four trumpets, placed around it in a horizontal 
direction, and at right angles to each other, as shown in the 
annexed section, in which the globe is represented in the cen- 
ter \d d d d are the trumpets, and 
& & & 5 the frame surrounding them, 
at a distance of about half an 
inch fi-om their mouths. Such as 
we have described was the appa- 
ratus, which had been construct- 
ed under the direction of Mr. Sey- 
mour, who informed the party that 
if any of them would ask a ques- 
tion of liis little fairy, and direct the voice into one of the trum- 
pets, an answer would immediately be returned from the ball. 

" Let me interrogate her," exclaimed Louisa, as she ad- 
vanced toward the railing. " Tell me, mysterious being, the 
name of the person who now addresses you." 

" Miss Louisa Seymour," answered a voice sufficiently 
audible to Louisa, and yet so distant and feeble, that it ap- 
peared as if coming from a very diminutive being, and thus 
heightened the deception.' 

" Now, Vicar, it is your turn," said Mr. Seymour. 

" Well, then, I will try whether I cannot puzzle your Del- 
phic lady ;" and accordingly, applying his mouth to the trum- 
pet, Mr. Twaddleton demanded an interpretation of ^lie fol- 
lowing charade : — " My First makes my Second^ and fancies 
be is my Whole .?" 




MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 201 

"What is her answer?" anxiously inquired the party. 

" As prompt as it is correct. She tells me it is Patriot." 

" Let Miss VUlers advance ; she has so lately distinguish- 
ed herself by her beautiful enigma, that I have no doubt she 
will now favor us with one that will try the skUl of the 
Oracle, and delight us with its composition," said Mrs. Sey- 
mour. 

" After that very pretty speech, it would be affectation on 
my part to refuse ; but you really, my dear Mrs. Seymour, 
place too great a value upon my humble efforts." Miss Vil- 
lers, accordingly, slowly and distinctly enunciated the follow- 
ing lines in the ear of the trumpet : 

" My First 's a conveyance that's oft on the stand, 
And yet none more private careers in the land ; 
Nor wheels, nor e'en horses, are for it e'er needed, 
And still by five couriers 'tis ever preceded. 
So quick has it moved that, in England on Sunday, 
It's been found in the midst of Morocco on Moni lay. 
When by rough work and wearing 'tis no longer sound. 
By applying my Second a cure has been found. 
My Whole is a terror to all who may travel ; 
So pray, gentle lady, this riddle unravel.'* 

" Who can make it out ?" asked Tom. 

" Have patience for the response," said the vicar. 

" She teUs me she requires time," observed Miss Villers. 

" Very well : lend your ear, and let us know when the in- 
spiration comes upon her." 

" She now rings a bell to announce, I suppose, that she is 
ready with her answer. Yes ; here it is :" 

" To unravel your riddle T quickly essay'd, 

With what skill you will presently learn: 
That is, if my answer, in riddle convey'd. 

Is by you understood in its turn. 
Know, then, that your First is lively and gay, 

Though of food it never can taste, 
And still it forever is picking away, 

Except when it travels in haste. 



209 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

All wet is its horror, so tender its frame, 

And yet at a spring it will jump, 
But what must appear a strange part of its game, 

To keep dry it will fly to a pump ! 
When tender or tired, how refresh'd by green grass 1 

As it wanders through meadow or lawn. 
Yet it is not a horse, a cow, or an ass, 

For it hates ev'ry species of corn. 
Of your Second, my friend, I've a story in store. 

That perhaps may give you a shock. 
For 1 found it attach'd to Newgate's dark door 

The moment I wrench'd off its lock. 
In the cell thus exposed I most anxiously look'd, 

And saw, with the eye of a mole, 
A wretch there immured, and for punishment book'd, 

And in him I discover'd your Whole." 

" Now, then, who is prepared to interpret the Sibyl's an- 
ewer?" asked the vicar. 

" I believe I can gness its meaning," answered Mr. Seymour. 
And well he might, for he had concocted the whole aifair in 
concert with Miss Villers. 

After much questioning and puzzling, as usually happens 
upon such occasions, Mrs. Seymour declared the mysterious 
word to be Footpad ; and she was right, and the rest of the 
party concurred in that decision ; although there was one 
point that Tom did not comprehend, and that was how the 
Second could be " found on Newgate's dark door." 

" Why, my dear," said the vicar, " even dull as I usually 
am upon these occasions, I very readily solved that mystery. 
Did he not find a Padk>c\. upon ' Newgate's darlc door V and 
by taking off the lock, leave his ' second,' Pad ?" 

The charade having been thus explained to the satisfaction 
of the whole party, the next question which engaged their 
attention was the construction of the apparatus, by which 
the voice was so mysteriously conveyed to the ear. 

Tom examined the baU, the trumpets, and the framework ; 
but ho was unable to discover any clew by which he could 
oiu-avel the mystery. At length Mr. Seymour proceeded to 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 303 

chv3 explanation. He told them that the mechanism owed its 
effects to the combined operation of two principles with which 
they were already acquainted ; the concentration and con- 
veyance of sound by means of a speaking-pipe, and its reflec- 
tion from an appropriate surface so as to change its apparent 
direction, by producing an artificial echo. He then showed 
them the pipe which was concealed in one of the legs of the 
frame, and explained in what manner the voice of Tom Plank, 
who had been stationed in an adjoining room, was conveyed 
to the mouth of the trumpet, and thence reflected to the ear 
of the observer. By means of the annexed section, we shall 
hope to render this subject as intelligible to our readers, as 
did Mr, Seymour to his little pupils. 




J & represent two of the legs of the frame, one of which, as 
well as half the rail, is made into a tube, the end of which 
opens immediately opposite to the center of the trumpet. 
This hole is very small, and concealed by moldings; the 
other end communicates by a tin pipe f p, which passes in a 
concealed manner along the floor of the room, into an ad- 
joining closet, where the confederate is concealed. It is evi- 
dent that any sound, directed into the mouth of the trumpet, 
will be iriunediately reflected back to tlie orifice of the tube, 
and distinctly heard by a person who places his ear to the 
mouth of the fimnel m ; while the answer returned by him, 
traveling along tlie tin funnel p p, will bsue irom its con- 



204 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

cealed orifice, and striking upon the concave surface of the 
trumpet, be returned to the ear as an echo, and thus appear 
as if it had proceeded from the interior of the ball. 

The vicar observed, that this deception of the Invisible 
Girl, which had formerly created so much interest, was Httle 
more than the revival of the old and well-known mechanism 
of the speaTcing hust, which consisted of a tube, from the 
mouth of a bust, leading to a confederate in an adjoining 
room, and of another tube to the same place, ending in the 
tlie ear of the figure ; by the latter of which a sound whis- 
pered in the ear of the bust was immediately carried to the 
confederate, who instantly returned an answer by the other 
tube, ending in the mouth of the figure, which therefore ap- 
peared to utter it. " The Invisible Girl," continued the vicar, 
" evidently only differs from that contrivance in this single 
circumstance, that an artifical echo is produced by means of 
the trumpet, and thus the sound no longer appears to proceed 
in its original direction." 

" Your remark is perfectly correct, my dear vicar," said Mr. 
Seymour. 

Tom Plank, with an air of self-satisfaction, at this moment 
emerged from his retreat, and inquired whether his perform- 
ance had met with the approbation of the company. 

" Gentlemen," said Tom Plank, " as I am now fully satis- 
fied that any plan of propelling live and dead luggage through 
funnels can never succeed, I propose to employ tubes for con- 
veying sounds to a great distance, so as to do away with the 
use of telegraphs." 

" "Why that plan is more practicable, but less novel, than 
the one you have just abandoned," answered Mr. Seymour. 
" At the latter end of the last century, a man of the name of 
Gautier conceived a method of transmitting articulate sounds 
to an immense distance. He proposed the construction of 
horizontal tunnels that sltould widen at their extremities, by 
means of which the ticking of a watch might be heard more 
distinctly at the distance of two hundred feet than wlien placed 
close to the ear. I thirk he calculated that a succession of 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 205 

such tunnels would transmit a verbal message nine hundred 
miles m an hour." (17) 

" Only think of that!" ejaculated Tom Plank; "to make 
a communication from London to Edinburgh in about twenty- 
five minutes 1" 

"•True, my friend; but what would you say, were I to 
suggest a method of communicating information to any dis- 
tance without the loss even of a single second of time ?" 

" There now ! " cried the vicar, " you have supplied Tom 
Plank with some fresh barm to set his brains working." 

" He is an indefatigable fellow, I must allow," said Mr. 
Seymour. 

After this discourse the vicar rose from his seat, and on 
walking across the room, the creaking of his shoes excited 
the attention of Mr. Seymour, who, with his accustomed 
gayety, observed, that " the vicar had music in his soley 

"Mr. Seymour!" exclaimed Mr. Twaddleton, with a look 
which we should in vain endeavor to describe, " the infirmity 
of my shoes, crepitus crepidce^ is at all events sanctioned by 
high antiquity ; for we are told by PhUostratus, in his Epis- 
tles, that Vulcan, being jealous of Venus, made Jier creaking 
shoes, in order that he might hear whenever she stirred." 

So ludicrous an appeal to antiquity would have overcome 
Heraclitus himself; no wonder then that the whole party 
enjoyed a hearty laugh at the worthy vicar's expense. 

"Well, Mr. Twaddleton, if, as you say, I have brought 
down philosophy to account for the most familiar occurrences, 
it is but just that I should return the comphment, by declar- 
ing that you are equally prepared to throw a classical interest 
around the humblest as well as the most dignified subject, 
a capite usque ad calcem^'' observed Mr-. Seymour. 

" Now, Tom, as you have so lately been instructed in the 
different sources of sound, do tell your good friend, the vicar, 
the cause of the creaking of his shoes," said his father. 

" The dryness of the leather, I suppose," answered the 
young phQosopher, 

" A certain state of dryness is certainly a necessary condi- 



206 PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

tion, or else the cohesion between the inner and outer sole 
would exclude the air. Correctly speaking, the creaking de- 
pends upon the sudden compression of the air contained be- 
tween the two surfaces of leather ; just as a sound is produced 
by the clapping of the hands by the air thus set in vibration. 
Shoes with single soles, therefore, never creak, and by inter- 
posing a piece of oil-silk between the two soles, you wiU so 
far insure the contact of their surfaces as to obviate the 
sound." 

" That is at all events a piece of practical philosophy worth 
knowing ; and I shall accordingly instruct my operator, Jerry 
Styles, upon this point," observed^the vicar. 

" So you see, my dear sir, I am no bad shoemaker, although 
I have never yet made a shoe." 

" To be sure — to be sure," exclaimed the vicar ; " for as 
Horace has it — 

' sapiens crepidas sibi nunquam 

Nee soleas fecit : sutor tamen est sapiens.' "* 

Hor., lib. i., sat. 8. 

" You never made a happier quotation," exclaimed Mr. 
Seymour. 

" I have only one other remark to make," continued he, 
" which the consideration of this subject has very naturally 
suggested — that the various str^ge sounds, which have from 
time to time alarmed the superstitious, may be readily ex- 
plained upon the simple principles we have been discussing. 
I well remember a whole family having been thrown into a 
state of terror, by a mysterious sound which regularly recur- 
red every evening ; when it was at length discovered to arise 
from the crawling of snails over the window ; their slimy 
surfaces, as they moved along, produced a friction, which oc- 
casioned a vibration of the glass." 

" And I never recall to my recollection, without some de- 
gree of terror," said the vicar, " the night I passed in an old 
oaken chamber which had the reputation of being haunted. 

* " For though the wise nor shoes nor slippers made 
He's yet a skillful shoemaker by trade." 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 207 

A bright fire cheerfully blazed in the grate as I entered the 
apartment, and casting its ruddy light around, in some meas- 
ure dissipated the prejudice which had been- raised to the 
disparagement of my dormitory ; but awaking in the night, 
my fire was out, and a succession of the most extraordinary 
noises I ever heard assailed me." 

"All which are easily explicable," said Mr. Seymour. 
" The old oaken materials were expanded by the heat of your 
fire, and on the apartment cooling, they again contracted, 
and gave origin to aU the sounds you describe." 

" How unsparingly does science clip the wings of imagina- 
tion !" observed Miss ViUers. 

" Keverting to the subject of shoemaking," said Mr. Sey- 
mour, " let me ask the vicar, whether he remembers the re- 
ceipt of Orator Henley, for making a pair in a few minutes." 

" I remember it well : he collected a number of shoemakers 
by promising to impart his great secret to them ; and this 
wonderful abridgment of time and labor was exhibited to 
his gaping auditors by cutting oflf the tops of a ready-made 
pair of boots!" 

" I think," said Mr. Seymour, " when Tom has solved the 
enigma I am about to propose, you will allow that, as a para- 
doxical shoemaker, I have fairly beaten the orator out of the 
field." 

" A shoemaker once made shoes without leather, 
With all the four elements joined together ; 
There were Fiee, and Water, and Eaeth too, and Aib, 
And most of his customers wanted two pair." 




208 PniLOSOPHY IN SPORT 



CHAPTER Xn. 

THE FLOWER-GARDEN. — EARLY PASSIOK FOR FLOWERS ENDURES 
THROUGH LIFE. — ADVANTAGES ARISING FROM THEIR CULTIVA- 
TION. — ITS PLEASURES ENHANCED BY THE APPLICATIONS OF 
SCIENCE. — CONTRAST, A SOURCE OF PLEASURE. — ILLUSTRA- 
TIONS. — THE PHILOSOPHY OF COLORS. — COMPLEMENTARY, OR 
ACCIDENTAL COLORS. — EXPERIMENTS WITH COLORED WAFERS. 
— OPTICAL FALLACIES. — REFLECTIONS IN THE ALCOVE OF THE 
major's GARDEN. — PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLU- 
SIONS. 



The reader will remember that a promise had been given 
by Miss Villers to visit Osterley Park, in company with the 
Seymour family, in order that they might inspect and ar- 
range the flower-garden of Major Snapwell. That promise 
had been redeemed, and on the morning following their ar- 
rival, the gallant host reminded Miss Villers of her engage- 
ment to offer such suggestions for the improvement of his 
flower-beds, as might readily occur to a person of her ac- 
knowledged taste. 

"Nay, my dear major, rather appeal to our good friend 
Mr. Seymour, since it is from his science alone, that you can 
expect any really useful hints for the more skillfid disposi- 
tion of your flowers," answered Miss Villers. 

"Previous to our entering upon this subject," interposed 
the vicar, "may I be allowed, my dear major, to congratu- 
late you on having your flower-garden so close to your man- 
sion ; when so placed, it inspires very different feelings from 
one situated at a distance ; in the former case, each flower is 
a friend, with whom you may hourly hold converse ; you 
trace its growth from the opening bud to the falling blossom." 

" So entirely do I agree with every word that has fallen 
from our friend the vicar, that I would earnestly entreat 
every true votary of our elegant science, to place the shrine 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 209 

Of his goddess within a readily accessible distance of his 
dwelling," observed Mr. Seymour. 

" Do you not remember," asked Tom, " when we laid out 
our little gardens, how desirous you were that they should 
be placed at a short distance from the house, so that we might 
watch the progress of our flowers, and the effect produced 
upon them by daily attention ; and as long as I live I shaU 
never forget the pleasure they so constantly gave us, during 
the holidays." 

The artlessness and truth with which this genuine feel- 
ing was expressed, particularly struck and pleased Miss Yil- 
lers, and led her to remark that, with the exception perhaps 
of certain musical airs, nothing so tenaciously clings to the 
memory, or entwines itself so passionately around our afifec- 
tions, as an early love of flowers ; that the violet and prim- 
rose, gathered in our childhood, carry with them the most 
endearing reminiscences, and the most pleasurable associa- 
tions, to extreme old age. " The sojourner of distant lands," 
continued the young lady, " actuaUy weeps with joy over the 
violet that may have casually found its way to the country 
of his adoption."* 

Mr. Seymour always considered the cultivation of a flower- 
garden as very properly included within the instructive rec- 
reations of youth. 

"There cannot," said he, "be a more healthy and rational 
amusement. The contemplation of the softer beauties, which 
a beneficent Providence has so profusely lavished upon us, 
communicates a sympathetic influence, which not only edu- 
cates the mind, but refines the heart, and leads the young 
scholar to look ' tlirough Nature, up to Nature's God.' — The 
vigilance and kindly care, too. with which we watch, and 
provide for the tender plant iuring its progressive stages, 

* It is related that a vessel on arriviTig in New Holland, and inn)orting for 
the first time some primroses into the I'olony, produced such excitement 
amongst the English settlers, as to have rendered it necessary for the author- 
ities to call out a guard to protect the desired treasure ; and it is recorded of 
Linnaeus that, in his travels through England, he shed tears of joy on recog- 
nizing the golden gorseof his native land. 



210 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

furnish a wholesome discipline of the affections ; whUe, at 
the same time, we are practically taught the great physical 
as well as moral truth, that the success of every enterprise 
wUl depend upon the due appliances of time and season. 
The opening foliage, hursting bud, and expanding flower be- 
come associated in the young mind with the cheering ideas of 
hope, progress, and fulfillment." 

" I am unwilling to interrupt your flow of eloquence, so 
powerfully exerted for a high moral purpose," said the vicar, 
" but never let us forget to impress upon the young mind, 
that the gratifications afforded by the contemplation of Na- 
ture must ever be commensurate with the knowledge of her 
laws and harmonies — that Science can call up beauties, and 
unfold charms, unknown and unperceived by the common 
observer — 



' A primrose by a river's brim, 
A yellow primrose is to him, 
But it is nothing more.' " 



" I can assure you," replied Mr. Seymour, " that my chief 
object in the proposed examination of the major's flower- 
garden is to realize what you have so happily expressed, and 
which you wiU be pleased to remember I have advocated on 
many former occasions. It is my present intention to con-- 
vince our young party that Science, relaxing her sterner as- 
pect, may be found indulging her fancy in tlie flower-garden, 
and may even be caught by the young florist, in a kind of 
holiday humor, coquetting with the Muses, and sporting 
amidst its gaudy parterres." 

"If I correctly understand Mr. Seymour," observed the 
major, " he is prepared to point out the relations which sub- 
sist between certain colors, auvl the agreeable arrangement of 
flowers ; but before we proceed," continued he, " I should 
much hke to ask whether tliose who have investigated the 
natural sources of the beautiful have not justly concluded in 
acknowledging Contrast as one of its most important con- 
ditions? and, if so, whether that principle should not bo 



MADE SCIENCE EST EARNEST. 211 

carried out in the arrangement and distribution of our flow- 
ers?" 

Mr. Seymour admitted, without any hesitation, that Con- 
trast necessarily entered into all our conceptions of the beau- 
tiftd ; " for," said he, " without darkness, we should be scarce- 
ly conscious of the reality of light ; and it is equally evident 
that, to render light charming to the senses, we must have 
shade as an accompanying contrast ; even the rainbow owes 
much of its beauty to the dark cloud of rain, upon which its 
gorgeous colors appear in such striking opposition. And 
when does the clear blue sky ever appear so lively and 
charming, as when viewed through the openings of shadow 
ing trees ?" 

" Nothing can be more true, according to my views and 
experience," observed the vicar ; " and let me ask, in my turn, 
wherein would be found the beauties of the most magnificent 
temples of Greece, if deprived of the happy alternation of 
lights and shadows ? And as to our Gothic edifices, 1 have 
always regarded their tracery, moldings, and projecting 
ornaments as ingenious traps for catching them." 

" If so," exclaimed the major, " 'may their shadows never 
be less,' for I am a devoted admirer of Gothic architecture." 

"There can be no doubt," said Mr. Seymour, "that the 
alternations of light and shade are always pleasing to the im- 
agination, and indeed they constitute a striking feature of the 
beautiful ; and I think I may be justified in comparing colors 
when unrelieved by judicious contrast, to lights without shad- 
ows, or shadows without lights." 

" How vividly does this conversation recall to my recollec- 
tion the delight I experienced, last summer, on the downs of 
Sussex, during a short residence at Eastbourne," said Miss 
VlUers, "when, on a breezy day, masses of cloud were rap- 
idly driven across the clear sky, and sunshine and shadow, 
like wild spirits, chased each other over hiU and dale ! The 
bright gleam, as it advanced, shed joy and gladness from its 
golden wings ; while the broad shadow that followed in its 
train, although for the moment it might sober this feeling of 



212 PHILOSOPHY m SPORT 

exhilaration, served at the same time to heighten the expect- 
ed pleasure of another bright alternation." 

Mr. Seymour told his fair companion that it was only un- 
der circumstances such as she had so poetically described, 
that sunlight proclaims its undisputed dominion over our in- 
ward feelings : " It is then," said he, " that we yield to the 
impressions of Nature in one of her most pleasing moods, and 
discover that sympathetic relations subsist between her exter- 
nal operations and our own internal sensations." 

I think we may venture to say, that those who, perchance, 
have read this description by Miss Villers, wiE readily ac- 
knowledge that they have experienced the same feelings un- 
der similar circumstances. 

"Am I then to understand, without further discussion, 
that the arrangement of our flowers is to be directed -by the 
simple law of contrast of colors ?" asked the major. 

" Not exactly : there is another and a higher consideration 
to guide us — a principle depending upon optical laws ; to ex- 
plain and illustrate which I consider to be my special mis- 
sion," answered Mr. Seymour. 

" Nunc agite^ pueri. Now, boys, for a holiday frolic with 
Science in the flower-garden !" joyously shouted the vicar. 

" Very good. You are certainly at liberty to give that 
turn to my expression," said Mr. Seymour ; " but you will 
soon perceive that the principles I am about to explain with 
reference to the arrangement of flowers, will admit of far 
more extensive and important applications, or I should have 
scarcely considered it worth while to enter upon their con- 
sideration. After this declaration, the major will probably 
allow me to proceed without further interruption. Well, 
then," continued Mr. Seymour, " in the first place, let it be 
distinctly understood, that philosophers consider white light, 
as it emanates from the sun, as being compounded of, and 
consequently resolvable into, three primary colors, viz. — red, 
BLUE, and YELLOW ; and that, should such colors be recom- 
bined, in their just proportions, they will reproduce white 
light ; and that, moreover, aU other colors, such as orav^e^ 



MADE SCIENCE IS EARNEST. 213 

green^ indigo^ and violet., are compouiiJs of the primaries 
just mentioned ; thus, for instance, green is a compound of 
blue and yellow — orange, of red and yellow — and purple, of 
blue and red ; and so on. 

" When a body, therefore, exhibits a particular color, we 
may assume that the white light, which has fallen upon its 
surface, has been resolved into its constituent colors ; of which 
some have been absorbed or extinguished,* while others have 
been reflected — the reflected rays meeting the eye are, of 
course, those which impart to the body in question its char- 
acteristic color : thus — if a body appear green, we infer that 
it has absorbed the red ray and reflected the blue and yellow 
ones, which, by combining, produce green. The difference 
of shade, or tone, observable in colored bodies — such, for ex- 
ample, as a light or dark green, or a bright or dark red — 
arises from their respective surfaces reflecting, in conjunction 
with the dominant color, other subordinate rays, with a 
greater or less admixtm'e of white light that had escaped de- 
composition." 

"I believe," interposed the vicar, " that a surface never 
exclusively reflects any single kind of colored rays." 

" I do not believe that there is such a thing as a perfectly 
unmixed color, excepting of course those transmitted through 
the prism," answered Mr. Seymour. 

"Well," observed the vicar, " I must now acknowledge the 
error into which I have faUen. You must know that, in 
anticipation of your lesson, I had prepared a top, whicli I 
thought, by spinning rapidly, would enable my young friend 
to comprehend more readily your theory. I divided its uppei 
surface by radii into three compartments, corresponding to 
the relative areas occspied by the three primitive colors ; 
and I fully expected that, during the rapid revolution of the 
top, I should so combine these colors as to have produced a 



♦ When we say that certain rays are dbaorbed, we nse a figurative expres- 
Biou to denote that they have vanished, without reference to the mode o( 
action by which the effect is produced. 



214 PHILOSOPHY m SPOKT 

pure white ; but instead of that, I only obtained a dull and 
dirty grayish tint." 

" And I hope you now fully understand the cause of your 
disappointment," said Mr. Seymour. " Oould you have ob- 
tained colors, as pure as those of the prism, you would, 
beyond doubt, have succeeded. In carrying out our theory, 
however, we are bound to consider the colors as pure, so that 
the union of any one with the other two shall produce white 
light. Now, the colors standing in such relations to each 
other are very significantly said to be complementary of each 
other. Thus, red is complementary of green, that is, of blue 
and yellow, because, to form white light, red must be added 
to such colors. So again, blue is said to be complementary 
of -orange ; although, in some of the more comphcated colors, 
it is not always easy to fix upon their exact complements." 

Mr. Seymour next proceeded to consider certain eflfects pro- 
duced by white and colored light upon human vision ; and 
for this purpose he thought the readiest and most satisfactory 
way would be, at once, to exhibit a simple and, as he thought, 
a very instructive and convincing experiment. He accord- 
ingly attached to a white card three difierently colored 
wafers, in the figure of a triangle ; and stated that, if the eye 
be steadily fixed upon them for a few seconds, and then 
turned away and directed to a blank part of the card, the 
image of the wafers would be seen of the same form and 
dimensions, but in colors complementary of those of the real 
wafers. 

"Do you mean to say, papa," asked Tom, with some sur- 
prise, " that, after looking at the red wafer, I shall see its 
ghost of a green color, by merely turning my eyes to a blank 
part of the paper ?" 

" Yes, my dear boy, that is precisely my meaning ; but do 
not trust my word, let your eyes judge for themselves." 

Tom obeyed his father's directions, and readily saw the three 
wafers of different colors, but " more faint," as he said, " than 
the real ones. I see," said he, " the red wafer now green, 
the violet one yellow, and the orange one blue." 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAENEST. 215 

" I think we all now understand the meaning of comple- 
mentary color ; I shall therefore advance another step in the 
inquiry," said Mr. Seymour. " The unreal, or spectral color, 
you have just witnessed, and which is always complementary 
of that of the real imago, wlien it is called up in the way you 
have seen, is said hy M. Chevreul to he produced by Suo- 
OESSivE Contrast, to distinguish it fi-om the optical appear- 
ance I am now about to exhibit, and wliich has been termed 
Simultaneous Contrast. The meaning and value of these 
words will immediately become apparent, for since in the late 
experiment the true and complementary colors were seen suc- 
cessively, or the one after the other ; so. in the experiment I 
am about to exhibit, the true and spectral colors will be seen 
together: the terms, therefore, successive and simultaneous 
contrasts seem especially well calculated to mark the distinc- 
tion. In this second experiment, I shall use the same card 
and the same wafers. Now then, Tom, I again ask you to 
gaze steadily upon the wafers, as you did before, but without 
transferring your eye to a blank part of the card, as in the 
former experiment, and tell me what you see." 

"I see," answered the boy, after a short interval, "the 
three wafers, each bordered by a rim of a different color ; 
the red wafer has a border of green, the violet of yellow, 
and the orange one of blue." 

The major having likewise satisfied himself by ocular 
demonstration, asked whether he was not to understand from 
what he had seen, that the eye, in viewing existing colors, 
sees also, either successively or simultaneously, phantoms of a 
complementary hue? 

" You state the fact very clearly," answered Mr. Seymour, 
" for those complementary images have no existence but ui 
the mind's eye ; they are mere specters called up as it were 
by enchantment, butlhey are nevertheless very important in 
their practical influences ; indeed I may say that they furnish 
the only rational explanation of many appearances which, 
although familiar, are not the less difficult to comprehend. 
Tliis must be my apology for having so heavily taxed your 



216 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

tiiQe and patience ; and all that now remains for me to do, ia 
to announce the general optical law to be deduced from them, 
mz. : Th'at when two dissimilar' colors are seen in juxtaposi- 
tion^ or wTien one quicMy succeeds the other^ they will mutu- 
ally modify each other^ ly reciprocally imparting their 
complementary colors^ 

"Are you prepared to give us some simple instance, in 
which so modified an effect can be readily witnessed ?" asked 
the major. 

" At once,"- answered Mr. Seymour: "look at this bright- 
green colored book, just purchased at a raih-oad station, where 
hundi-eds of such evergreens are exposed for sale, and teU me, 
if you can, the color of its leaves." 

" Pink," one and aU exclaimed. 

" No such thing," said Mr. Seymour, " they are perfectly 
white, as you will acknowledge, as soon as I turn aside the 
green cover." 

The party were perfectly astonished at this revelation, and 
amused themselves for some time by fixing their eyes upon 
the green cover, and then opening the book, in order to wit- 
ness the complementary color of its pages. 

" I wiU relate a curious anecdote in connection with this op- 
tical fallacy,", said Mr. Seymour : " being about to start on a 
railroad, I purchased at the terminus one of these green books 
to amuse myself during the journey, and on placing a shilling 
on the cover, I hastily withdrew it, under the impression 
that I had offered a copper counterfeit, but which immedi- 
ately regained its silvery hue, as soon as it had been removed 
from the glare of the green-eyed enchanter. I will add to 
this another similar anecdote. As I lately passed a shop in 
the Quadrant, near Eegent-street, I observed in the window 
numerous small articles of silver, displayed on a bright green 
card; after gazing upon them for a few seconds they ajj- 
peared as if deeply tarnished, an effect which I soon discov- 
ered was due to the complementary color cast upon them by 
the green ground on which they were exhibited." 

" I perceive," said the major, " that this optical theory 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 217 

in"st comprise many beautiful applications wliich I had not 
at first imagined." 

" I could point out many such illustrations which, I doubt 
not, would greatly interest you ; and here again I must be 
permitted to refer to an observation to which the vicar has 
frequently drawn our attention — the distinction between 
seeing and observing, between 'eyes and no eyes,' as Miss 
Edgeworth would express it. Should the philosopher travel 
through a country, a large portion of whose surface is cov- 
ered by a vivid green, enlivened by a bright sun, and inter- 
spersed with patches of plowed land, he will not fail to ob- 
serve that the latter assume a purplish-red color, while hun- 
dreds may have passed over the same road without having 
noticed, much less inquired into the cause of such an appear- 
ance." 

" I can readily understand that there may be appearances 
to be alone recognized by an experienced and inquiring eye," 
observed the major. 

" That is undoubtedly the case ; and," added Mr. Seymour, 
•' so also are there optical illusions which the uneducated eye 
will take for realities — thus, many of those diversified tints, 
which so charm us in the summer sunset, are mere optical 
creations, being a few bright colors multiplied by the comple- 
mentary images of our vision ; and so also with those colors 
that occasionally flash across the restless surface of the sea ; 
they are but complementary tints, which the blue or green 
waves cast upon the intervening spaces." 

" How all-important are these few observations, with 
which you have favored us, to the landscape painter!" said 
Miss Yillers. 

" Suppose we now, at once, adjourn to the flower-garden," 
said the vicar, " where our good friend will find a better op- 
portunity for exemplifying his principles." 

This proposition was iVv f ^y a general assent, and, at the 
suggestion of the majcr, the party retired into an alcove, 
which commanded a full view of the flower-beds, while it 
afliDrded an agreeable retreat from the direct rays of the sun. 



218 PHILOSOPKY IN SPOET 

••Major," said Mr. Seymour, "I commend your taste in 
bringing together similar flowers in masses ; but you should 
take care that the neighboring clumps, as far as possible, oc- 
cupy equal areas, and exhibit, as nearly as may be, complemen- 
tary colors; although I will take this early opportunity to 
remark, that colors which, in the aggregate, are almost repul- 
sive, may be tolerable, or even pleasing, when presented 
singly to the eye ; for instance, masses of blue and green, un- 
relieved by other colors, are any thing but agreeable when 
viewed in juxtaposition ; and yet who will not hail with de- 
light that little blue and bright flower, the ' Forget-me-not^^ 
though embosomed in a mass of green?" 

" For the present," said the major, " let us confine our at- 
tention to the arrangements of clumps, or masses ; each of 
which we will suppose to consist of different flowers, but in 
such proportions and proximity, as may conduce to a recip- 
rocal modification of their colors ; now, what I expect to ob- 
tain from your science is some general guiding principle for 
the arrangement and disposition of such groups." 

" And that information I will endeavor to afford you. In 
the first place then, take care that your plants are pretty 
nearly of equal magnitude, or they will resemble an awkward 
squad with tall and short recruits. Let it be, once for all 
too, remembered, that complementary colors are never in- 
compatible with each other, their tone, and therefore their 
beauty, being mutually heightened by a reciprocal exchange 
of complements ; not that I mean to assert that non-comple- 
mentary colors are always unpleasing — I think, as a general 
rule, colors which possess a common element lose more or 
less of such element by juxtaposition." 

"I understand your meaning: orange and green, each 
having yeUow as a common element, would I presume fur- 
nish an example," said the major. 

" Undoubtedly; and see what T^ould happen — the orange 
would appear more red, and i lie green more blue, or, in other 
words, each would be deprived of a portion of its yellow," 
said Mr. Seymour. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAiJNEST. 219 

"That might be advantageous," suggested the major, 
" where the one was deficient in red, and the other in blue." 

" Exactly so — and the circumstance of the same color be- 
ing liable to vary so widely in intensity and tone must render 
it difficult, if not impossible, to lay down any general rule 
that shall not have many exceptions ; but then these excep- 
tions will generally admit of explanation, and will serve to 
extend the field of observation, and to stimulate inquu'y, and 
thus to afford additional sources of recreation ; indeed, what 
many persons would regard as insuperable obstacles to any 
thing like a systematic arrangement of colored flowers, I am 
disposed to consider as affording the highest claims to our 
regard. In contemplating a group of flowers, the scientific 
observer will often experience an intuitive feeling of pleasure, 
or it may be, an undefined impression of dissatisfaction ; he 
wfll then proceed to examine into the harmonies which may 
explain tlie one, and to seek for the discords that may enable 
him to correct tlie other — this exercise of the mind consti- 
tutes the main pleasure of floral gardening, which never could 
be derived from a system -under the dominion of defined and 
invariable laws." 

" I think you just now stated that green and yellow are 
not well-assorted companions," observed the vicar ; " if so, 1 
should much like to ask you upon what principle it is that 
the green woods so greatly delight the eye on assuming the 
livery of autumn?" 

" Therein you are deceived," answered Mr. Seymour : " the 
green passing into yellow is very far from pleasing ; the au- 
tumnal tints really owe their beauty to then- rich and almost 
endless variety ; and I suspect, if it were possible to unweave 
their gorgeous texture, we should find that the assemblage 
was resolvable into groups of complementary colors. I think," 
continued Mr. Seymour, "it must be admitted that colors 
bearing too close analogy with each other, unless judiciously 
relieved, will suffer by juxtaposition. I am also disposed to 
think you wOl admit, that the different shades of the same 
color disparage each other : only look at yonder bed of Dah- 



230 PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT 

lias, and say whether they would not be much heightened 
in beauty by the intermixture of others of somewhat of a 
complementary character ; and so is it with the golden Jon- 
quil, when placed side by side with the pale Narcissus, the 
white light of the latter dimming the luster of the former by 
its complementary sable, while the complementary green of 
the former imparts an injurious hue to the delicacy of the lat- 
ter. Let me now, by way of further illustration, direct youi 
attention to yonder Roses ; those in the bed on the right have 
far too much yeUow to please my eye ; they almost assume a 
faded appearance ; while those on the left are too much in- 
clined to blue : now, I would propose, with the major's con- 
sent, to bring some strong yeUow flowers in contact with the 
former, and some purple ones in contact with the latter, and 
I believe these defects would disappear." 

"I do not think that your critical eye can find any fault 
with those blue flowers next to the orange ones," observed 
the vicar. 

" No, indeed — ^nor with the violet contiguous to the yel- 
low; they appear most cheerful in each other's company; 
in fact, there are few flowers in the garden in better accord 
with each other, unless you disturb their harmony by some 
unwelcome intrusion ; but just look at that duU bed of green, 
near the yellow flowers; on the right of which, near the 
sun-dial, you will see a similar bed, but then it is in conjunc- 
tion with a cluster of the vivid red Verbena, which lights it 
up, as it were, witli a borrowed splendor, and at once re- 
deems it from the somber appearance which characterizes the 
former one. You have another good instance of what may 
be called an iU-matched alhance in yonder beds of Nastur- 
tium and Purple Poppies : instead of the natural lively scar- 
let, the former assume a duU orange tint, in consequence of a 
greenish-orange complement cast upon them ; while the lat- 
ter, oppressed by the greenish-purple complement of the 
Nasturtium, exhibit a tint almost as dull as wine lees." 

" You have not yet said one word about white flowers," 
observed Miss ViUers. 



JiADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST, 221 



" True, madam -» generally speaking, a clump of white 
flowers seen apart will produce but little effect ; wlien, how- 
ever, they are suitably distributed among those whose colors 
have been judiciously contrasted, they will occasion a favor- 
able impression ; as, for instance, when dispersed among red 
and pink flowers, surrounded by verdrre, or among groups 
of blue and orange, and of violet and yellow flowers ; you 
will readily perceive that their optical influence will have the 
efiect of extinguishing any excessive or undue reflection of 
white rays emanating from the neighboring bright flowers, 
and would thereby purify and heighten their tone." 

Miss Villers here begged to ask a question respecting the 
influence of a predominating green. 

Mr. Seymour replied " that the green leaves of flowers did 
not interfere to the extent generally supposed, since, as soon 
as the eye distinctly and simultaneously sees two colors in a 
rich flower-bed, the attention is so riveted upon them, that 
it passes without notice the contiguous objects which lie in 
a receding plane, and are of a somber color ; besides which, 
it is a fact that green, in juxtaposition with a mass of bright 
yellow and blue, so nearly loses its color as to be scarcely 
recognized, and will certainly not intrude with any optical 
impertinence." 

" After the valuable lesson we have received," said the 
major, " I think we shall be able to improve greatly the ar- 
rangement of my garden. You will be pleased, my dear sir, 
to accept my best thanks — and what says Miss Yillers ?" 

" That Madam Flora holds a most punctilious court ; and 
expects her flaunting subjects to adopt their costume in strict 
accordance with the colored dresses with which they may 
be brought into contact," answered the lady. 

To whom Mr. Seymour replied " that Flora was not the 
only so'^ereign distinguished by such exactions." 

"x understand your allusion," said Miss ViUers: "you 
would intimate that the optical principles you have explained 
might admit of a wider range of application than that which 
comprehends the domain of Flora ; that they might, for in 



232 PHILOSOPHY HT SPORT 

stance, suggest to my sex a more harmonious mixture in their 
colored ribbons and dresses." 

"No doubt. Count Rumford long ago made a similar ob- 
servation; but, strange to say, it has passed unheeded. I 
fuUy hope, however, that the exertions of the new ' School 
of Design' vv^ill introduce a purer taste as regards the harmo- 
ny and disposition of colors, not only in dress, but in furni- 
ture, and every species of decoration — but what thinks the 
vicar ?" 

" That you have well performed the part of the Sibyl, and 
safely conducted us through Elysian fields, wherein you have 
introduced us to phantoms and spectral forms of the highest 
interest for our instruction, no less than for our amusement ; 
and, as truth alone has been the object we have sought, it 
only remains for you to dismiss us safely through the appro- 
priate portal." 

" I quite understand your meaning," said Mr. Seymour, 
*' though artfully concealed under the shadow of the Muses' 
wing. You admit the truth of the optical theory I have ex- 
pounded, but would, at the same time, caution us agatust the 
danger of being led by the fascinations of fancy to an exag- 
gerated estimate of the importance of its applications ; a cau- 
tion wliich I can assure you I very sincerely appreciate." 

COS 




MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. • 223 




CHAPTER Xm. 

A VEW OPTICAL TOT INVENTED BY THE AUTHOR, AND TEEMED THJC 
THAUMATROPE. — THE VICAE's LUDICROUS ALAEM AT ITS ANNOUNCE- 
MENT. EXPLANATION OF ITS PRINCIPLE. RETENTIVE POWEE OF 

THE EETINA. SPECTRAL, OE ACCIDENTAL COLORS. — THE CROSS OF 

CONSTANTINE. SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING THE THAUMATEOPE. 

OTHER TOYS UPON THE SAME OPTICAL PRINCIPLE. PHANTASMA- 

8C0PE. PH.^NAKISTISCOPE. IMPORTANT CONCLUSION OF THE CHAP- 
TER. 



Tom's holidays were now drawing to a close, and the chU- 
tiren were summoned into the library to receive their last 
lesson in philosophy. 

" You have lately witnessed an experiment," said Mr. Sey- 
mour, " which must have convinced you how liable the ear 
is to be deluded with respect to the nature and direction of 
sound ; I shall now show you that the eye has also its sources 
of fallacy." 

" If you proceed in this manner, you wiU make us Carte- 
sians,"* exclaimed the vicar. 

"I shall illustrate my subject by means of a new toy 

* The Cartesians maintained that the senses were the great sources of de- 
ception ; that every thing with which they present us ought to be suspected 
as false, or at least dubious, until our reason has confirmed the report 



224 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

•which I have lately invented," said Mr. Seymour ; " and un- 
less I am much mistaken, it will afford as much amusement 
to the elder as to the younger members of our party, although 
the vicar may perhaps regard it as a more hostile instrument 
than even that of the wooden horse which filled unhappy 
Troy with an armed enemy. It is a small machine," contin- 
ued Mr. Seymour, "which is weU calculated to furnish ua 
with some capital puns and well-pointed epigrams." 

" With puns !" exclaimed the horrified vicar, who no soonei 
Kear 1 this appalling declaration, than, like another Laocoon, 
he deprecated the introduction of the '■'•donum exitiale" 
wiihin the walls of Ovei-ton Lodge. But his hostility was 
soon disarmed, not by the circumvolutions of a snake around 
the body of the enraged orator, but by the embraces of little 
Eosa, who threw her arms around the neck of the vicar with 
such supplicating grace, that at length he exclaimed, " Well, 
well ; if it be the decree of the Fates, I must submit." 

During this altercation, Mr. Seymour had procured the 
" wooden engine" from his study. 

" I will first," said he, " exhibit the toy in its original state, 
and then show you the improvements which have been 
effected in it." 

" Let us hear the account of its operation," said the major, 
" which I perceive is inclosed within the box." 

"True," replied Mr. Seymour; "and I think you will 
agree that I have given a very plausible explanation of its 
effects." 

" Plausible," muttered the vicar, " plausible enough, no 
doubt; oh, the-Sinon!" 

Mr. Seymour then proceeded. "This toy is termed the 

THAXJMATKOPE. " 

"Of Grecian origin!" observed the vicar. '■'■'■ Timeo Da- 
naos et dona ferentes^ as Yirgil has it." 

" What is the meaning of the term ?" asked Louisa. 

The vicar explained to her that it was compounded of the 
Greek words eaS//o and rpt jru ; the former of which sigmfi( d 
VDunder^^hQ latter to turn. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 235 

"Exactly," replied Mr. Seymour : " 'a Wonder-turner,^ or 
a toy which perfo^'ras wonders by turning round : but let ma 
proceed in the expla.iation." He then continued to read as 
follows : " This philosophical toy is founded upon the weU- 
known optical principle, that an impression made on the 
retina of the eye lasts for a shoi't interval after the object 
which produced it has been withdrawn. During the rapid 
whirling of the card, the figures on each of its sides are pre- 
sented with such quick transition, that they both appear at 
the same instant, and thus occasion a very striking and magi- 
cal effect. On each of these cards a device is introduced, 
with an appropriate motto or epigram ; the point of which is 
answered, or ex^jlained, by the change which the figure 
assumes during the rapid whirling of the card." 

" It may be very clever," said the vicar, " but I do not 
understand it." 

" But you shortly will ; look at one of the cards." 

Mr. Seymour then displayed a pasteboard circle, on one 
side of which was figured a rat, and on the other a cage : 
two strings were fastened in its axis, by which the card could 
easily b© made to revolve, by means of the thumb and finger. 
Fearing that some of our readers may be as dull of compre- 
hension as the vicar, we have introduced a sketch of the ap- 
paratus, in which both sides of the card are exhibited, with 
the strings by which it is whirled round. 




Uo sooner had Mr. Seymour put the card in motion, than 
the vicar, in a tone of the greatest surprise, exclaimed, 
*' Magic ! magic! I declare the rat is in the cage! !" 

" And what is the motto ?" asked Louisa. 



226 PHILOSOPHY nf SPORT 

" Why is this rat like an opposition member in the House 
of Commons who joins the ministry?" replied Mr. Sey- 
mour. 

" Ha, ha, ha ! — excellent !" cried the major, as he read the 
following answer : " Because by turning round he gains a 
snug birth, but ceases to be free." 

" The very reverse to what occurred m ancient Rome, 
where the slave became free by turning round," observed the 
vicar. . 

The vicar, no doubt, alluded to the custom of making a 
freeman as described by Persius ; from which it appears, 
that the clapping a cap* on the head, and giving him a turn 
on the heel, were necessary cuxumstances. A slave thus 
qualified became a citizen of Rome, and was honored with a 
name more than belonged to any of his forefathers, which 
Persius has repeated with a great deal of humor in his fifth 
satire : 

" . . . . Heu steriles veri, quibus una Quiritem 
Vertigo facit !" 

" That false enfranchisement with ease is found ; 
Slaves are made citizens by turning round." 

Detden. 

" If we may trust the late report of the American Congress, 
your ' Thaumatrope' has also found a pohtical application on 
the other side of the Atlantic," observed the major ; "for it 
would appear that the Honorable Member of Ohio told the 
Honorable Member of Carolina, whom he twitted with sud- 
den tergiversation, that he reminded him of the hoy who 
turned, round sofas% that the hinder parts of his dress were 
on toth sides at once.^^i 

" Show us another card," said Tom eagerly. 

" Here, then, is a watch-box ; when I turn it round, you 
will see the watchman comfortably sleeping at his post." 

" Very good ! It is very surprising," said the vicar. 

* Hence the Cap became the symbol of Liberty. 
t "Times,' March 2, 1852. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 237 

" Yes," observed the major ; " and to carry on yonr 
political joke, it may be said that, like most worthies who 
gain a post, by turning round^ he sleeps over his dnty." 

" The epigram which accompanies it is not deficient in 
point," said Mr. Seymour. 

" The caprice of this watchman surpasses all bounds, 
He ne'er sits in his box, but when going his rounds / 
WhUe he no sooner rests, 'tis a strange paradox ! 
Than he flies from his post, and turns out of his box !" 

" What have you there?" exclaimed the vicar ; " arms and 
legs, without a body ?" 

" Yes," replied Mr. Seymour ; " and which, on turning 
round, will present the figure of a king, invested with all the 
insignia of royalty." 

"It is indeed a king. Look at his crown and scepter!" 
cried Louisa. 

" Now for the epigram," said the major, who then read 
the foUowing lines : 

" Head, legs, and arms, alone appear ; 
Observe that nobody is here : 
Napoleon-like, I undertake 
Of nobody a king to malTc." 

The next card presented a laughing face, wLich, on being 
turned round, was instantly changed ii,.to a weeping one. 
The motto — The sweetest things turn sour. 

"The device is capital!" exclaimed the vicar : "I question 
whether Peter of Cortona ever produced a more striking 
metamorphosis."* 

The other cards were now exhibited in succession, of which 
the box contained eighteen, and the whole party, not even 

* Ferdinand, duke of Tuscany, was once struck with the picture of a child 
crying ; the artist (Peter of Cortona), who was at work upon the head, wish- 
ing to give a proof of his skill, by a few judicious touches converted the crying 
into a laughing face. The duke was in astonishment ; the painter, to show 
himself master of the human countenance, restored his first touches, and the 
^uke again saw the child weeping. 



228 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

excepting the vicar, were liiglily gratified with the amuse- 
ment. 

" But I have not yet read to you the author's address to 
the pubhc ; and which, I must say, contains a succession of 
very happy puns." 

"Spare me! spare me!" cried the vicar; "I like your 
toy, but cannot discover the advantage of alloying amuse- 
ment with such spurioas wit, and of associating science with 
buifoonery." 

Mr. Seymour, however, was relentless, and thus proceeded : 
" It is well known that the Laputan philosopher invented a 
piece of machinery, by which works could be composed by a 
mechanical operation ; and the ' Quarterly Eeview' has assert- 
ed, that a certain English poem was fabricated in Paris, by 
the powers of a steam-engine ; but the author of the present 
invention claims for himself the exclusive merit of having 
first constructed a hand-mUl, by which puns and epigrams 
may be turned with as much ease as tunes are played on the 
hand-organ, and old jokes so rounded and changed, as to as- 
sume aU the airs of originality. The inventor confidently 
anticipates the favor and patronage of an enlightened and 
liberal public, on the weU-grounded assurance, that ' one good 
turn deserves another ;' and he trusts that his discovery may 
afford the happy means of giving activity to wit that has 
beeii long stationary ; of revolutionizing the present system 
of standing jokes, and of putting into rapid circulation the 
Diost approved bon-mots." 

'• Why, vicar, what ails thee ?" exclaimed the major. 

" Our subject has given him a turn ; let him alone and he 
wiU soon come round^'' observed Mr. Seymour. 

The whole party, with the exception of Mr. Twaddleton, 
laughed heartily ; the vicar, however, did not relax a feature 
of his countenance; nor would he "though Nestor swear 
the jest be laughable."* 

As soon as this ebulhtion had subsided, the major inquired 

* Shakspeare. 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 220 

of Mr. Seymour, what was the nature of the improvement, 
to which he had alluded. 

" My proposed improvements refer both to the subjects ex- 
hibited on the cards, and to the mechanism by which their 
changes are effected," replied Mr. Seymour. 

" In the first place, it has occurred to me that this amusing 
toy might be made instrumental in impressing classical sub- 
jects upon the memory of young persons." 

This observation delighted the vicar, who said that he 
would patronize such an attempt with all his heart. 

" Why can we not," continued he, " thus represent the 
Metamorphoses of Ovid? or what say you, vicar, to con- 
verting the fleet of -iEneas into sea-nymphs, as Yirgil has it?" 

" An elegant thought ! upon my word ; a most elegant 
conception!" exclaimed Mr. Twaddleton. 

"What have we here?" interrupted the major, who had, 
for the first time, noticed the superscription on the cover of the 
box ; " had I seen this before, I should have augured favor- 
ably of the toy : it is like the sign of an inn, which is held 
out to announce good entertainment within." He then read 
the following : 

The Thaumatrope ; 



Rounds of Amusement, 
or 
How to please and surprise ^ 

By Turns. 
Mr. Seymour now proceeded to explain more fully the opti- 
cal theory of the instrument, which neithor Louisa nor Tom 
could, as yet, thoroughly understand. 

He told them that un object was seen by the eye, in con- 
sequence of its image being delineated on the retina, or optic 
nerve, which is situated on the back part of the eye ; and 
that it had been ascertained, by experiment, that the impres- 
sion which the mind thus receives lasts for about the eighth 
part of a second after the image is removed. " It is. there- 
fore, sufiiciently evident," said Mr. Seymour, " that if any 



230 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

point, as a lighted stick, be made to revolve, so as to complete 
the cu-cle in that period, we shall not see a fiery point, but a 
fiery circle ; because the impression made by it in every point 
of its circuit wUl remain untU it comes round again to the 
spot from which it set out ; — ^but we will at once exemplify 
this fact by an experiment." 

Tom was accordingly directed to procure a piece of stick 
and a candle ; and as soon as they were brought into the 
room, Mr. Seymour ignited the end of the stick and whirled 
it round, when a bright circle, without any intervals of dark- 
ness, was seen by the whole party. 

" Never untU this instant," exclaimed the vicar, with an 
expression of high satisfaction, " did I fully appreciate the 
beauty of that passage in Milton, wherein the poet evidently 
describes the rapidity of Satan's flight, as well as the reful- 
gence of his appearance — 

' Sprimg upward like a pyramid of fire.' 

Now to take in the fall meaning of this figure," continued 
Mr. Twaddleton, " we must imagine ourselves in chaos, and 
that a vast luminous body is rising near the spot where we 
may be supposed to be standing, so swiftly as to appear a 
continued track of Hght, and lessening to the view, according 
to the increase of distance, until it ends in a point and then 
disappears ; and aU this must be supposed to strike our eye 
at one instant." 

" It is very probable," said Mr. Seymour, " that the poet 
had such an idea in view, and tliat he intended by it to con- 
vey the immense rapidity of Satan's flight. Homer makes 
use of the same flgure to express the velocity of the jave- 
lin, 6o\ix6<TKtov cyxos, the ' long-sTiadowinV javelin. "We shall 
have ample proof of the efiect of this power in the eye of re 
taining impressions, and of thus converting points into fines 
and circles, during the exhibition of your fireworks; and 
which, in fact, derive the greater part of their ma^cal eflfect 
from it." 

" The piu- wheel is certainly nothing more than a fiery cii> 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAENEST. 231 

cle produced by the rapid revolution of a jet of flame," said 
the vicar. 

"And tlie rocket," added Mr. Seymour, "is a column of 
light occasioned by the same rapid movement of a burning 
body in a rectilinear or curved direction." 

" I perfectly understand all that you have said," observed 
Tom. 

" Then you vs^Ol not have any difficulty in explaining the 
action of the Thaumatrope, for it depends upon the same opti- 
cal principle; the impression made on the retina by the 
image, which is delineated on one side of the card, is not 
erased before that which is painted on the opposite side is 
presented to the eye ; and the consequence is, that you see 
both sides at once." 

" Or, you might put it in this way," said the major : " that 
as the image remains the eighth of a second on the retina, a 
revolution of eight times in a second wiU secure its uninter- 
rupted continuance." 

" On turning round the card," observed Louisa, " I perceive 
that every part of the figure is not equally distinct." 

" Because every part of the card does not revolve with the 
samf .'Jocity," said her father; " and this fact offers a good 
illustration of what I formerly stated,* that in circulai mo- 
tion, the ])arts more remote from the axis of rotation are 
those which move with the greater velocity. This toy wiU 
also be found capable of exemplifying another truth to which 
I Lave before alluded, that the ' axis of motion remains at 
rest, • ''aile all the parts revolve round it.' "t 

'•i remember that very well," exclaimed Tom. 

" Then take the card and spin it between yourself and the 
window, and teU me what you observe," said his father. 

"I see a dark line across the window; and what is very 
strange, the other parts of the card appear transparent ; for 
they do not obstruct the view of the window, as they would 
if the card were at rest," 

" The dark line you see is the axis of rotation ; which, be- 

* Page J 72. t Page 63. 



232 PHILOSOPHT IN SFOKT 



ing stationary, necessarily excludes the light; the other parts 
being in motion do not remain a sufficient time to obliterate 
the image made on the eye by the window. It is true that 
the card disk passes between your eye and the light, but, as 
it does not continue at any one point for more than the 
eighth of a second, there is no more apparent intermission 
of the hght than what occurs during the winking of the 
eyes." 

" You allude to a very curious fact," observed the vicar, 
''that, although we are perpetually covering the eyeballs 
with our eyehds, we are not conscious of the intervals of 
darkness." 

" The reason of which must surely be obvious from the 
explanation I have just offered," said Mr. Seymour : " the 
sensation of light is not exchanged for that of darkness in so 
short a period as the twinkling of the eye. Before we quit 
the subject," continued Mr. Seymour, " let me point out the 
great importance of this law of vision. Suppose the image 
on the retina had vanished at the same time with the with- 
drawal of the object ; we should, in that case, have been un- 
able to see the things immediately around us in due connec- 
tion with each other ; the objects must have appeared isola- 
ted, in detached parts, by means of separate impressions 
which the eye would be unable to combine into a whole, un- 
less indeed they came to us at a very acute angle." 

" I admit the plausibility of your theory," said the vicar ; 
" but it appears to me that objects frequently linger on the 
sight for a longer period than that which you assign to them. 
I well remember seeing the flame of a candle for several sec- 
onds after it had been suddenly withdrawn fi'om the apart- 
ment." 

" I admit that strong lights frequently continue for some 
time thus visible in the ' mind's eye ;' and it is well known 
that such impressions are often followed by images of similar 
shape, successively assuming different colors. In passing 
from sunshine to a dark room, we also frequently witness the 
appearance of startj and circlea of vari-colored hght; but 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. . 233 

these ' ocular spectra' are very distinct from the phenomena 
of the Thaumatrope, and are to he explained upon very dif- 
ferent principles." 

" There is also another optical appearance which the knowl- 
edge you acquired in the flower-garden at Osterley Park will 
enable you fully to understand — I allude to the spectral im- 
ages which become visible after intently gazing upon a color- 
ed object, and which you wiU remember, upon the principle 
of '■Successive Contrast^* are always of a complementary 
color." 

"I know exactly to what you allude," said the major; 
" and I do not doubt but that many of those illusive ap- 
pearances which have been described might be referred to 
the operation of the same natural cause. It is easy to im- 
agine that a person who has steadfastly fixed his eyes upon 
an illuminated object may for some minutes afterward see 
the same figure of a dark liue ; it may have been from such 
a cause that Constantine saw the image of a cross in the sky. 
You are probably acquainted with the opinions of Eusebius, 
Fabricius, and Dr. Lardner, upon this alleged miracle." 

" Yes," added the vicar, " and I also know that this im- 
puted miracle for the conversion of Constantine gave origin 
to the OathoUc custom of illuminating the cross of St. Peter's 
in Rome." 

" Sir David Brewster, in his work on Natural Magic, has 
given us a beautiful illustration of the same principle ; it is 
as follows," said Mr. Seymour. " A figure dressed in l)lac\ 
and mounted upon a wMte horse, was riding along exposed 
to the bright rays of the sun, which through a small opening 
in the clouds was throwing its light only upon that part of 
the landscape. The Maclc figure was projected against a 
white cloud, and the white horse shone with particular bril- 
liancy by its contrast with the dark soil against which it was 
seen. A person interested in the arrival of such a stranger 
had been for some time following his movements with intense 
anxiety; but, upon his disappearance behind a wood, was 

* See chapter xxii p. 861, 



234 PHILOSOPHY m SPORT 

surprised to observe the specter of the mounted stranger in 
the form of a white rider upon a black steed, and this specter 
was seen for some time in the sky, or upon any pale ground 
to which the eye was directed." 

Miss ViUers here remarked that she " had a distant recol- 
lection of a somewhat similar appearance having been re- 
corded by Goethe."* 

Mr. Seymour added that " from the same cause a devotee 
before ah image might see its spectral form whichever way 
he turned his eyes ; or he might see a luminous border around 
the head of the saint." 

" That I can readily believe," observed the major : "in the 
former case the appearance would arise from Successive^ in 
the latter from 8imult(fneous contrast. — It is gratifying to 
observe to what an extensive range of subjects this apparent- 
ly trivial fact is applicable." 

" But let us return to the subject of the Tliaumatrope," 
said Mr. Seymour. "Behold!" continued he, "the Trojan 
ships!" 

" Ay, ay, sure enough," said the vicar ; " but let me see, 
are their forms according to ancient authority ? Very well 
indeed, Mr. Seymour ; very well : the poops have the bend 
so accurately described by Ovid and Virgil — '■puppesque re- 
curvm^ as the poet has it. And there is the triton ; but is 
its size in proportion to the vessel ? Yes, sir, you are doubt- 
less correct, the figure is generally represented of considera- 
able magnitude on ancient medals ; and Silius Italicus, if my 
memory serves me, alludes to the weight of the image having 
on some occasions contributed to the wreck of the vessel." 

" Spin them round," said Mr. Seymour. 

The vicar complied; exclaiming at the same moment, 

* The appearance referred to is thus described by G-oethe, in his work on 
colors : " As it was growing twilight, a black poodle ran by my window in 
the street, and drew a clear shining appearance after him ; the undefined 
im^e of his passing forns remaining in the eye." According to his own ac- 
knowledgment, this optical illusion had "Higgested the introduction of the black 
dog in his poem of Faust, in which it .■• described "as ranging through the 
ootn and stubWe, with a line of fire following upon his track." 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 235 

" ' Vos ite solutm. Ite decs pela^i.'' They are positively con- 
verted into sea-nymphs. ' Miriiile monstrum P " cried Mr. 
Twaddleton. 

"Ilere is another classical device; the representation of 
Eurydice, as she fell lifeless at the moment Orpheus turned 
round to gaze on her," said Mr. Seymour. 

" Charming ! charming ! I perceive that it is a copy from 
the splendid print of Didot in the Paris edition of Virgil." 

" Turn it round, vicar." 

" See ! see ! she revives, she opens her eyes, and throvs^s 
her arms around the neck of her frantic lover. Truly, Mr. 
Seymour, this is a most interesting toy," said Mr. Twaddleton. 

Mr. Seymour here observed that he had vrritten an epigi*am 
to accompany the subject tliey had just witnessed, and he 
trusted that he had given to it a classical turn. 

" By all means read it ; the subject admits of much classi- 
cal decoration," observed the vicar. 

Louisa received the epigram from the hands of her father, 
and read as follows : 

" By turning round, 'tis said, that Orpheus lost his wife ; 
Let him turn round again, and she'll return to life." 

It could not be expected that Mr. Twaddleton should have 
admired lines so burdened with puns ; but he quietly ob- 
served, "I should have preferred a quotation from the fourth 
Georgic, so beautifully descriptive of the fable." 

The next card that was presented for inspection exhibited 
the metamorphosis of Daphne into a laurel. As the figure 
revolved, the leaves were seen sprouting from her fingers, 
and her arms lengthening into branches. 

~" Oome now," said Mr. Seymour, "let us exhibit the fig- 
ure which has been designed at my request : the change 
which it win undergo during its revolution may, I trust, on 
some day be realized ; I only regi-et that it is not in my pow- 
er to give the vicar so good a turn.'''' 

" Really, if, like Or.-.nzbe in Martinus Scriblerus, thou hadst 
a worvl for ever}- day in the year, T should certainly say 



236 PHILOSOPHY m SPOET 

that you were this day under the dominion of the word 
turn.'''' 

" You know this resemblance," said Mr. Seymour, as he 
showed the figure painted on one side of the card to hia 
daughter, 

"It is the vicar !" exclaimed Louisa. 

It was, indeed, a portrait of that most excellent character, 
represented in the costume in which be usually appeared. 

" Turn it round," said Mr. Seymour. 

Louisa twirled the cord, and the effect of the rotation was 
to convert the humble vicar into the dignified bishop ; his 
meager form was instantly changed into a corpulent figure, 
which was stiU further inflated by the addition of the episco 
pal robes and lawn sleeves, while his angular features were 
softened by the graceful curves of an immense wig. 

" I will give yo'j a motto for it," said the major, " and may 
it be prophetic ! — eapid peefeement." 

" I will now show you the improvement which has been 
effected in the construction and use of this toy," said Mr. 
Seymour. " It consists in altering the axis of rotation while 
the card is in the act of revolving, in order that the images 
on its opposite sides may be brought into different positions 
with respect to each other." 

" There cannot be any doubt that such would be the effect, 
were it possible to change the axis in the way you propose : 
but how is this to be effected ?" asked the vicar, 

"At first I attempted to produce the change by the addition 
of several other strings, but I soon found, that, in order to 
avaU myself of this expedient, I should be obliged to stop the 
card before I could alter the axis ; whereas my great object, 
as I have just stated, was to produce the change while the 
card was in the act of spinning," answered Mr. Seymour. 

" And I shrewdly suspect that such must necessarily be the 
case, adopt whatever expedient you may," observed the major. 

" No indeed ; I have at length succeeded to my entire sat- 
Lofaction, and that too by a most simple scheme, after having 
tried without success many very complicated contrivances." 



MADE SCIENCE IN BAENES.T. 



337 



The party were very desirous of witnessing tlie triumph of 
skill, and Mr. Seymour produced tlie card with its appen- 
dages, of which we shall here present our readers with an 
engraving : 

Fig. 1. 




In aU respects the card is constructed like the common 
Tliaumatrope ; the subject, it will be perceived, is that of a 
man drinking, the bottle being placed on one side, and the 
head on the other ; upon revolving the card, in the ordinary 
manner, the two images wOl appear together as represent- 
ed in 

Fig. 2. 



^^ 




The improvement consists in inserting in one, or if a still 
greater change be desired, in both sides of the card, two 
strings, as seen in fig. 1 ; viz. a. d and a e, which, united at 
A, form a common string for twirling the card. The cord a d 
is elastic, wliile the string a e is incapable of being stretched. 
If, therefore, while the card is ia the act of spinning, the cord 
a D be puUed with an increased force, it will take the position 
D 0, while the melastic string a e will at the same time as- 



238 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 



sume that of e o. The consequence of which will be that, 
instead of the card spinning on the axis in the direction a b, 
it will now spin on that which is in the direction c b, and we 
shall accordingly see the images on the opposite sides of the 
card in different positions with respect to each other ; at one 
moment the bottle wUl be seen ia the hand of the drinker as 
represented in fig. 2, and in the next at his mouth, as shown 
in the cut below : 




while, by alternately tightening and relaxing the string, the 
figure will be seen ia the very act of raising and lowering 
the bottle. 

Mr. Seymour, having explained the principle of his improve- 
ment, as we have above related, proceeded to exemplify it by 
a series of different subjects. We shall select two or three 
of them for the sake of illustration. A card, with a jockey 
on one side and a horse on the other, on spinning round pre- 
sented the combined figure ; upon tightening the string, m 
the manner we have described, the card changed its axis, 
without the slightest halt or hesitation in its rotation, and the 
rider was in an instant canted over the head of his charger ; 
ia a moment, however, he appeared remounted ; after which, 
by pulling the string with diffierent degrees of force, he was 
made to stand on the saddle, and to exhibit a number of dif- 
ferent movements. 

The figure of an Indian juggler was represented in the act • 
of throwing up two balls ; on spinniag the card, and at the 
same time altering the position of the circle, in the manner 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAENEST. 239 

already described, three^ and afterward four^ became visible. 
When the card revolved upon its original axis, two of the 
balls on the reverse side coincided with tiie two painted on 
the front, so that during the revolution they fell upon the 
same spot on the retina, and therefore produced a single im- 
pression ; but as soon as tlie position of the card was changed, 
these spots were brought upon different points, and conse- 
quently produced separate and independent images. By alter- 
nately tightening and relaxing the strings, the balls were seen 
in motion, arising from and falling into the hand of the juggler. 

The next subject which we sliall describe produced a con- 
siderable degree of merriment. The vicar inspected the draw- 
ing, and observed that he saw a pulpit placed on the banks 
of a pond ; the card was made to spin, when a tailor was 
seen haranguing from the former, and a goose, at the same 
instant, fluttering over the water. The circle was now sud- 
denly shifted, and the vicar was desired to state what he 
saw: "Why, bless me!" exclaimed Mr. Twaddleton, "the 
tailor is justly served ; he is ducked in the pond, while the 
goose has taken his place in the pulpit." 

Fearing that we may have exhausted the patience of our 
reader, we shall only relate one more example. It was a 
Turk, who, by means of tlie expedient we are illustrating, 
was made to draw his saber, and cut off the head of his an- 
tagonist, which immediately fell into the hands of the decap- 
itated person, who, like St. Denys, appeared as if walking off 
with perfect indifference. 

" You must admit that these effects are no less novel than 
they are extraordinary, and that they are capable of almost 
endless variation," said Mr. Seymour. 

" I admit it all," replied Mr. Twaddleton, " and I have only 
to express a hope that, amidst aU your improvements, you 
will never lose sight of your first and most laudable design, 
that of rendering your toy subservient to classical illustra- 
tion : your triumph will then be complete, and I shall wil- 
lingly acknowledge tliat there is not only plulosophy but lit- 
erature, in your sport." 



240 



PHILOSOPHY IN SPOKT 



" I must not quit this subject," said Mr. Seymour, " unti. 
I have exhibited another toy, which, like the Thaumatrope, 
is indebted for its effect to the optical principle, which I trust 
is now well understood by all present, viz., that an impres- 
sion made on the retina la^ts for a certain period after the 
object itself has ieen withdrawn^ 

The annexed woodcut represents the instrument to which 
Mr. Seymour alluded. 




It consists of a disk of blackened tin plate, which is made 
to revolve on its axis in the- manner above exhibited. A nar- 
row opening extends from the circumference to the center as 
seen at a. If a device of any kind, as a star (which for in- 
creasing the beauty of the experiment ought to be transpa- 
rent and illuminated with a lamp), be placed behind the disk, 
it is evident that, as long as the circle remains at rest, no 
other part of the figure can be visible than that which is im- 
mediately behind the slit a, but the instant it is put into 
rapid motion the whole of the star will be seen, as exhibited 
in figure b. 

Mr. Seymour observed that the explanation of the phenom- 
enon was obvious ; — each successive portion of the figure eeen 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 241 

through the opening remains on the eye until the circle has 
completed its entire revolution. 

"This experiment," continued Mr. Seymour, "admits of 
a very curious modification, which I shall now proceed to 
exhibit." 

Three colored wafers were then placed, at equal distances 
from each other, on the disk, and, the instrument having 
been arranged before a looking-glass, the party were desired 
to observe the reflected image as the circle revolved. 

" The wafers are blended into one continuous zone," ob- 
served Mrs. Seymour. 

" To be sure," said Louisa ; " upon the same principle that 
the ignited stick appears as a fiery circle." 

" It would be very strange, after the different experiments 
we have seen, if we were not able to explain the present ap- 
pearance," observed Tom. 

" The fiery circle produced by the revolving stick is a much 
better illustration of the principle ; I do not see what object 
Mr. Seymour has in thus multiplying his experiments," said 
the vicar. 

" Gently, if you please, Mr. Twaddleton, and, before you 
favor us with your criticism, wait until I have concluded my 
experiment. You have seen that the reflected image of the 
revolving wafers appears as a continuous zone, and you have 
very correctly explained the reason of such an appearance ; 
but I must now request you to inspect the reflected image 
through the slit in the disk, as it revolves, and say what new 
effect you observe." 

"How very strange!" exclaimed Tom; "I see the three 
wafers very distinctly, and perfectly at rest." 

" Impossible!" exclaimed the vicar : "let me have a peep. 
Why, I declare they appear, as you say, stationary, although 
I know them to be in rapid motion ; as sure as fate I shall 
become a Cartesian." 

The major, Louisa, and Mrs. Seymour were aU equally sur- 
prised, and incapable of giving any explanation of the phe- 
uomenon they had witnessed. 



243 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOET 

" Let us remember," said Mr. Seymour, " that, in viewing 
the image through the slit in the revolving disk, we catch 
but a momentary glance as it passes before the eye, and that 
the image thus produced on the retina is retained until the 
next revolution again brings the slit into the same position. 
Now it is evident that, before the eye can ascertain a body 
to be in motion, it must observe it in two successive portions 
of time, in order to compare its change of place ;* but in the 
experiment under consideration, the glance is momentary, the 
wafer is no sooner seen than it passes away ; its figure alone 
is impressed upon the retina, and this impression is continued 
without any change, until the circle completes its round, and 
consequently the image must appear at rest." 

" I understand you ; the figure, but not the motion, of the 
wafer, is discernible in the short period during which it is 
visible through the slit," observed the vicar. 

" I lately witnessed a beautiful illustration of this subject 
at the Eoyal Institution," said Mr. Seymour. " A number of 
cogged wheels, cut out of pasteboard, were set in motion in 
a perfectly dark room, when occasional flashes of light from 
an electric battery displayed their forms most distinctly, and 
yet, although whirling round at the time, they appeared to 
the spectator as motionless as so many solid blocks of marble.f 
In like manner, in a' storm during the darkness of midnight, 
the roUing ship and waves, when rendered visible by flashes of 
lightning, wUl appear as completely at rest as a representa- 
tion of them upon the canvas. So again, in viewing a foun- 
tain in full play, the eye sees only a clouded mist issuing from 
the jet : but, if in the dark we cause a succession of electric 
sparks to foUow each other at short intervals of time, we 
shall at once perceive that this cloud consists of distract drops 

* " Our knowledge of motion is a deduction of reasoning, not a perception 
of sense; it is derived from the comparison of two positions; the idea of a 
change of place is the result of that comparison attained by a short process «if 
reasoning." — Lord Brougham. 

t Since the last edition of this work, Mr. Talbot has very ingeniously availed 
himself of the phenomenon for obtaining instantaneous photogenic images of 
bodies in rapid motion. 



MADE SCIENCE m EARNEST. 243 

cf water. These successive drops, wlien seen in one con- 
tinued light, follow each other so quickly, that the eye re- 
ceives new impressions before the previous ones are extin- 
guished, and hence a mass of confusion : whereas, in the in- 
stantaneous light which is shed by electricity, each impres- 
sion stamps its image before the succeeding one can interfere 
with it, and a pause is afforded for the exercise of distinct 
sensation. I may at some future time extend this interesting 
subject by exhibiting some optical illusions produced by the 
revolution of wheels in different directions and at different 
velocities, for the knowledge of which we are indebted to 
Mr. Faraday ;* and, in mentioning that distinguished philos- 
opher," added Mr. Seymour, addressing himself more partic- 
ularly to the vicar, " I cannot avoid remarking, that, if Phi- 
losophy in Sport can be made Science in Earnest^ the juve- 
nile lectures delivered by that professor have established the 
converse proposition, that the sternness of Science may be 
relaxed into the engaging aspect of Sport." 

" Before quitting this subject," continued he, " I have yet 
another toy in store for your amusement ; it is founded upon 
the optical principle which I have every reason to believe 
you now thoroughly understand." A square box was then 
produced containing a number of card disks, the edges of 
which exhibited a series of notches corresponding with the 
figures delineated on their margins. That the reader may 
better understand their construction, as well as the explana- 
tion of Mr. Seymour, the following representation has been 
introduced. 

" To exhibit the magical effects of this toy," said Mr. Sey- 
mour, " I will, by means of the spindle to which it is attached, 
cause it to revolve rapidly before the looking-glass, and you 
shall view the reflection through the openings." 

Each member of the party obeyed in succession the direc- 
tion thus given, and severally expressed the great astonish- 
ment they felt, at observing the figures in constant motion, 
and exhibiting the most grotesque attitudes. 

* See Journal of the Koyal Institution, No. 2. 



244 



PHILOSOPHY m SPOET 




" Now," said Mr. Seymour, " attend to my explanation. 
Each figure is seen through the aperture, and as it passes and 
is succeeded in rapid succession by another and another, dif- 
fering from the former only in attitude, the eye is cheated 
into the belief of its being the same object successively 
changing the position of its body. Consider what takes place 
in an image on the retina when we actually witness a man in 
motion ; for instance, a man jumping over a gate : in the first 
moment he appears on the ground, ru the next his legs are a 
few inches above it, in the third they are nearly on a level 
with the rail, in the fourth he is above it, and then in the 
successive moments he is seen descending as he had pre- 
viously risen. A precisely simDar eftect is produced on the 
retina by the successive substitution of figures in correspond- 
ing attitudes, as seen through the orifices of the revolving 
disk ; each figure remaining on the retina long enough to allow 



MADE SCIENCE IN EAKNEST. 



245 



its successor to take its place without an interval that would 
destroy the illusion." 

" Nothing can be more satisfactory than your explanation 
of this very extraordinary toy," observed the vicar. 

" I am now about to exhibit wliat I consider a great im- 
provement in its construction, inasmuch as we thus get rid of 
the mirror, and enable two persons to witness the deception 
at the same time," said Mr. Seymour. "For this purpose I 
have a spindle, at each end of which a disk is placed, and 
which I hold in my hand," We deem it expedient to illus- 
trate this arrangement by a woodcut. 




" By revolving the spindle, you perceive that both cards 
are made to turn round with equal velocity. Tom," said 
his father, " look through the orifices of the disk on my right 
hand, and, Louisa, do the same on my left." The children 
obeyed, and simultaneously expressed their wonder at what 
they witnessed. "The figures are all dancing!" cried Tom. 
" The horses are all prancing !" exclaimed Louisa. 

" You have not yet told us the name of this toy," observed 
the vicar. 



246 PHILOSOPHY IN SPOKT 

" It has received several names," answered Mr. Seymour, 
" as Phantasmascope^ Phmnalcistiscope, «&c., derived, as you 
no doubt perceive, from the Greek." It is scarcely necessary 
to observe that the appearances thus produced may be 
infinitely varied : heads opening their mouths, and distorting 
their countenances; creeping serpents, and machinery in 
active operation, are among the subjects that have excited 
the greatest admiration. 

Louisa here observed, that she had lately seen a most extra- 
ordinary optical illusion, termed " Fluttering Hea/rtsP 

" You allude to the figures, worked in worsted, on a ground 
of a complementary color," said her father. 

" To be sure ; and by moving about the tablet before the 
subdued light of a lamp or candle, the figures in question will 
appear as if in motion, and quite free, and disconnected with 
the ground upon which they are depicted," answered Louisa. 

" I am glad you have directed your attention to an appear- 
ance which has much puzzled wiser heads than our own," 
observed Mr. Seymour. 

" I also have heard that some difference of opinion exists as 
to the exact cause of this illusion," said Miss ViUers, " and 
have prepared a specimen for your use, not worked in worsted, 
but painted on card ; and I have, moreover, given to it the 
convenient form of a hand-screen, which I now place at your 
disposal." 

" Many thanks, my dear Miss Villers." 

Mr. Seymour, in the evening of the day, drew his family 
party around him, and by the aid of a candle was enabled to 
exhibit the extraordinary appearance above related. 

" Now," said he, " in order to arrive at some satisfactory 
explanation of this appearance, let us slowly and carefully 
observe what takes place. If we fix the eye upon some 
salient point of the figure, we shall soon become convinced 
that it does not actually change its place, with reference to 
the colored ground upon which it is depicted ; and if, next, 
we notice what change takes place on tlie sui'face of the fig- 
are, as the tablet is moved to and fro, we shaU detect n 



MADE SCIENCE IN EARNEST. 34? 

'•penumbra^'' that is, an imperfectly defined shadow, flitting 
across it. Now if this fact be admitted, two distinct questions 
will arise out of it : first, how is the shadow produced ? and 
secondly, upon what principle is the idea of motion thus con- 
veyed by it ? — In answer to the first of these questions, I 
must express my belief that it is a lingering impression upon 
the retina, produced by that of the colored ground, or that 
the color of the figure, and that of the ground, unequally 
retain their hold upon the eye, as to duration of time, and 
consequently that one impression, if I may so express it, 
overlaps the other." 

" After your explanation of the retention of an image for 
several seconds by the eye, I think I can comprehend your 
meaning," said Miss Villers. 

" Well, if this be granted, I think I can convince you, by 
ocular demonstration, that the transit of a shadow over an 
illuminated surface will have a tendency to produce apparent 
motion." So saying, Mr. Seymour proceeded, with lamp in 
hand, to the marble bust of Newton, that was mounted on a 
pedestal in a corner of his library, and on slowly moving the 
light, in different directions, before it, the whole party ac- 
knowledged that the countenance certainly became apparently 
animated by varied and changing expressions. 

The party now dispersed, not less gratified than they had 
been instructed by the lesson they had received. 



LIS&E^ONGRESS 



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